Shards of a Broken Crown (27 page)

The leader of
the smugglers who had met them on the beach said, “Sorry for
the scare, Mr. Avery. John said to cover the cove and make sure you
got ashore safely.” He was a nondescript fellow, ideal for
smuggling, one whom a soldier or guardsman was unlikely to look at
twice. The only thing that differentiated this man and his companions
from common workers was the assortment of weapons they carried.

Roo said, “I
wish we’d have had enough time for him to answer the note. So I
would have known we were to be met.”

The smuggler’s
spokesman said, “As soon as your clothing is dried out, we’ll
leave.” He glanced out the door of the hut. “Or maybe a
little damp, because we have to be out of here before dawn.”

“Patrols?”

“Not so’s
you’d notice,” said the man. “But there is a
checkpoint up the road we need to pass, and the guards that we’ve
bribed are relieved at dawn. You’ll go in place of two men who
will stay here. We’ve got some goods stashed away from our last
cargo and we’ll have to hurry to be in the town before dawn. No
one will suspect anything.”

Erik nodded.

Roo inspected
the clothing and said, “We’ll change once we get to
John’s. He’s sure to have some dry clothing.”

Erik sipped the
coffee. “This tastes fresh,” he said.

“Should
be. Got it off a packet boat from Durban yesterday. It’s part
of that cargo we’ll be carrying in.”

“Keshian
ships are putting in here?”

“And
Quegan traders, too,” said the leader. “Kingdom ships are
staying close to Port Vykor and escorting Far Coast traders to and
from the Straits of Darkness.” He made a wide sweeping gesture.
“Fadawah’s got a few ships left from the invasion, and
he’s keeping them up near Ylith. So there’s no one to
keep ships away from these beaches, but it’s tough getting
anything into the town unless you have the checkpoint guards bribed.”
The leader moved toward the door. “I’ve got things to
do.” He motioned to the other smugglers, who departed, leaving
Roo and Erik alone.

Erik said, “I
told you Vinci would get your note.”

“You had
more confidence in my agents than I,” Roo answered. “It
seems your faith was justified.”

Erik said,
“There are a lot of things at risk, Roo, and we need your
contacts as well as our own to pull off this counterstrike.”

“What’s
the Prince’s plan for that old abbey? If Fadawah’s got
any brains, it’s packed to the limit with enough men to strike
down the mountain and ruin any attack up the coast.”

“Arutha’s
got plans for the abbey.”

Roo shook his
head. “Every time I hear any member of the royal court has
plans, I’m reminded that most of the time we served involved
running very hard from people who were trying equally hard to catch
and kill us.”

Erik said,
“That’s one way of putting things.”

They spoke
little for the next hour, as their clothes dried enough to put on. An
hour before dawn, the leader of the smugglers said, “We must
go.”

Roo and Erik
quickly dressed, their clothes still slightly damp. They went outside
and gathered up bundles of goods, and climbed a steep path that cut
straight up the side of a small cliff behind the village. Fishermen
were moving down toward the beach where they would launch their boats
and spend their day as their fathers and grandfathers had before
them. They took no notice of the smugglers, and Roo assumed the
inhabitants of the village were paid a handsome sum to pretend the
smugglers were invisible.

They climbed the
cliffs until they reached the plateau above, a large stretch of dirt
and grass they quickly crossed to reach the road. They moved swiftly
down the road until they came in sight of a barricade. It was a
sturdy affair of dirt, reinforced with wood and stones, sporting an
impressive array of steel-tipped wooden stakes to repulse riders. To
pass it, the smugglers had to move to the side of the road, step down
into a shallow gully, then circle around to the back of the
barricade. A wagon or a man on foot could easily negotiate it, but
attackers up the road would be forced down to the cliffs on the sea
side, where another large barricade was erected, or into thick woods
steeply rising up the side of a small mountain, impassable by any but
the occasional goat or deer.

As they hurried
past the guards, the leader of the smugglers stopped and handed over
a pouch and nodded, without a word, to a soldier who was equally
silent.

Then they were
past the checkpoint and down the road into the town of Sarth.

The rear door to
the storage room closed after the last smuggler departed. It was
attached to the back of John Vinci’s shop, the second floor of
which was his home. A single lantern illuminated the room, which was
stacked with small boxes and bundles of goods he would sell in his
shop: cloth, needles, thread, iron goods—kettles, pots, and
pans— rope, tools, and other necessities for those living in
and around Sarth. Vinci turned and said, “Bad news, Roo.”

“What?”

“Lord
Vasarius has agents in town.”

Rupert said,
“Damn. Any who know me from my visits to Queg?”

“Almost
certainly. You’ll have to keep a very low profile,” Vinci
said. “You can stay out back in the smaller worker’s
shed. I have no one using it now. Vasarius’s men are due to
sail back to Queg by the end of the week. Once they’re gone,
you should be able to move about freely.”

John Vinci was
the son of an escaped Quegan galley slave who had made his way to the
safety of the Kingdom. He spoke the language of the island nation
like a native, and traded with smugglers and sea captains attempting
to avoid Kingdom customs officers.

He had come to
Roo’s attention when he had gained possession of a valuable
necklace, one which Roo had eventually used to ingratiate himself to
Lord Vasarius. He had then achieved several profitable trades with
the Quegan noble, leading up to planting a rumor of a treasure fleet
which had caused the leading nobles of Queg to dispatch their
warships to attack the fleet of the Emerald Queen as it exited the
Straits of Darkness the previous Midsummer’s Day. The most
powerful lords of Queg had seen the vast bulk of their ships sent to
the bottom, the single most devastating naval defeat in their
history.

Most knew that
Rupert Avery of Krondor somehow had a hand in this, for while there
was no direct line proving he engineered the ruse, there were ample
reports of rumors started by men who served on his ships, or who
worked for his agents. Without being told, Roo knew he was a marked
man in Queg and that to be discovered outside Kingdom protection
meant his life would be measured in hours, if not minutes. Even in
the Kingdom he would have to forevermore be vigilant against
assassins hired by Quegan gold.

Roo looked at
John. “I can hide out until we have to depart, if necessary.
But Erik needs to look around. Can you provide believable cover?”

John looked
dubious. “I don’t know. There are so many strangers in
Sarth, perhaps. If he could pass as a Quegan or Keshian mercenary, no
doubt. But all Kingdom citizens who bear arms are known to the local
soldiers.”

Erik said, “I
don’t have to go armed. If I’m one of your workmen. . .”

Vinci shook his
head. “I only employ casual labor, Erik. Things are a little
slow now, given the occupation.” He said, “Let me think
about this. You two sleep and take it easy. I’ll send one of my
children out with some food in a while, then sleep. Maybe by tomorrow
morning I’ll have thought of some reason to be walking around
town with someone as noticeable as Erik.”

“Buy
something,” said Roo.

John’s
eyebrows went up. “What?”

“Buy
something. A building, a business, a house. Something over on the
other side of the town that will let you move back and forth. Make
Erik. . . a builder. Someone you’re going to pay to repair
things.”

Vinci said,
“There are several businesses that are abandoned or for sale.”

“Good, let
it be known you’re taking the opportunity to seize profit, and
are willing to buy whatever anyone has to sell.”

“How, by
the way, am I paying for this?”

“If you
actually have to buy something, John, you’ll pay for it as you
always do, with my gold.”

Vinci grinned.
“It usually comes back with a profit attached.”

“True,”
said Roo, returning the grin. “That’s why you’re
doing so well.”

John opened the
door to the front part of his store, and the stairs leading up to die
living quarters above, and said, “Food will be here shortly.
After you finish, head out that rear door to the shed on the other
side of the yard and get some sleep.”

Erik turned to
Roo as the door closed. “A builder?”

“Just pick
up some loose wood, look at it, toss it aside, and grunt. Take along
some parchment or paper and scribble on it. Look around a lot. If any
of the soldiers start talking like they know something about
carpentry, nod in agreement.”

Erik leaned his
chair back, so that he balanced on two legs, resting his head against
the wall. “Well, it’s a better plan than I have. I hope
things back in Darkmoor are working out smoother than they are here.”

Jimmy shouted,
“No!”

Arutha said,
“There will be no argument!”

Dash stepped
between his brother and father and said, “Calm down, both of
you.”

Arutha said, “My
orders are not subject to your approval, James!”

Jimmy said, “But
you, leading a raid . . . it’s preposterous.”

Nakor and Father
Dominic stood nearby, watching the exchange. Arutha said, “I am
the only one here who remembers Father’s story about the secret
entrance into the abbey at Sarth. I don’t remember all of it,
but I stand the best chance of having things come back to me as I
walk around the base of that mountain.”

Jimmy looked at
Father Dominic. “Don’t you know the way?”

Dominic said, “I
know where the door is, in the sub-basement of the abandoned library,
that leads to the tunnel outside in the hills. I don’t know if
I could find the entrance from the outside. It’s been twenty
years since I’ve even been down to the base of the mountain.”

Jimmy was about
to speak when Dash said, “What do you want us to do?”

Arutha said, “I
need someone in Krondor overseeing the rotation of troops. When Von
Darkmoor and A very get back from their scouting mission at Sarth, I
want to be able to strike before Nordan sees die attack coming.”

“Which is
why Greylock is already up at the forward lines getting ready,”
said Jimmy.

“Yes,”
replied Arutha. “I’ll give you details before you go, but
by midday tomorrow I want you on the road west.”

Jimmy said, “I
don’t like this one little bit.”

Nakor grinned.
“You make that obvious.”

Dash said, “Come
on. We have to get our kits together.”

As the boys
reached the door out of Arutha’s office, Arutha said, “Jimmy,
Dash.”

They stopped at
the door. “Yes?” asked Dash.

“I love
you both very much.”

Jimmy hesitated
a moment, then returned to embrace his father. “Don’t do
anything stupid and heroic,” he whispered to his father.

“Aren’t
I supposed to be saying that to you?” asked Arutha.

Dash hugged his
father and said, “You know it wouldn’t do any good.”

“Stay
alive, both of you,” whispered Arutha.

“You,
too,” said Jimmy.

The brothers
left the room. Arutha turned to Dominic and said, “What does
the Ishapian Temple have to say to us, Brother?”

Dominic, a man
nearly eighty years of age, but appearing barely twenty-five due to
the healing magic of the Lifestone, said, “Many things, my lord
duke. May I sit?”

Arutha indicated
they both should, and Dominic said, “It took some persuasion,
but I am living proof of my claims. Besides, I was seniormost in rank
in the West and my words carried some weight.”

“And your
warning saved your library at Sarth.”

“To be
frank, that was not entirely providential.”

“What do
you mean?” asked Arutha.

“I don’t
think it a breach of trust to reveal it was your grandfather who
warned us to be ready to move the library when certain things
occurred.”

“Really?”
said Arutha.

Dominic got a
perplexed expression on his face. “But what I find odd was when
he arrived at Sarth to find me and take me to Seathanon, prior to our
confrontation with the demon, he didn’t seem to remember he
sent us the warning.”

“Maybe he
didn’t,” said Nakor.

“Why?”
asked Arutha.

“Because
maybe he hasn’t sent the warning, yet.”

Dominic said,
“Time travel?”

Nakor shrugged.
“Possibly. He’s done it before.”

Arutha nodded.
“That’s possible. I get the feeling there’s a great
deal more to all this than Grandfather has told me, or than you’ve
told me.”

Nakor said,
“True. But that’s for your own good.”

Arutha laughed.
“You sound like me, talking to my children.” To Dominic,
“So, will the Ishapian Temple support Nakor’s efforts?”

“Yes,”
said Dominic, “though they are somewhat dubious as to the net
effect. Yet they understand the need.”

“I’m
dubious, too,” said Nakor, “and I started the Temple of
Arch-Indar.”

Arutha said,
“You are the most amazing man. What is the exact purpose of
your order, again?”

“To bring
about the restoration of the Goddess of Good, as I told you before.”

“Yes, you
are a wonder,” said Arutha dryly.

Nakor said,
“Yes, I am, aren’t I? But I think my little temple will
not be what it needs to be until we find the real head of the order.”

“I thought
you were the high priest of Arch-Indar,” said Arutha.