Shards of a Broken Crown (69 page)

“How do we
insure we don’t make the same mistakes?” asked Miranda.

“There are
many things we will do differently; I will be the final authority
here. I may seek your wisdom and that of others, but in critical
matters I will decide. I erred in thinking that was ignoble and
arbitrary at Stardock, and now I know it is the opposite. Without a
vision, we become a debating society and a place where habit quickly
becomes ‘tradition.’ Tradition often becomes an excuse
for repression, bigotry, or reactionary thinking.”

“My Blue
Riders will keep them from being too tradition-bound.”

“My
friend,” said Pug, “your Blue Riders will become another
tradition. And those who survive the fight of the those
traditionalists who are now calling themselves ‘The Hand of
Korsh’ and “The Wand of Watoom‘ will become just as
fixed in their ways. Even Korsh and Watoom would be appalled to see
what their followers have created.”

“Maybe I
should go back there,” offered Nakor, half in jest.

“Maybe
not,” replied Pug. “Stardock will endure, and there will
be times we will be grateful it does.”

Looking around
the room, Pug said, “We here are embarking on a long fight.
There are powers moving through the universe, vast terrible powers
that we have only glimpsed. The two great wars we have so far endured
are but the opening moves in a game of chess.”

Miranda said,
“What are the Gods on our side doing about all this?”

Nakor said,
“They are helping you.”

“How?”
asked Miranda.

“In ways
obvious and subtle,” said Nakor.

Pug said,
“During the Chaos Wars, the very nature of things changed, and
since then the Gods have acted through agents and minions. We are who
we are because the gods have chosen us to be their agents.”

“Even Gods
need to learn,” said Nakor. “Your father’s
relationship with Sarig was not particularly effective, from the
God’s point of view, so rather than repeat that mistake, he’s
elected to try a different tactic.”

Miranda said,
“There seems a great degree of futility in what we attempt.”

“Perhaps,”
offered Nakor, “but we have seen wonderful things. The creation
of the Temple of Arch-Indar is no mean feat. It will be a tiny,
inconsequential sect for centuries, and most who encounter it will
not think it equal in importance to the long-established worship of
Astalon, Dala, Sung, and the other lesser Gods, but the fact that
enough purity of the Goddess exists in the universe to serve us in
balking Nalar’s attempts to again create havoc on our world is
a miracle. There may not be another such manifestation for centuries,
yet we know one may come.”

“What of
you?” asked Pug. “What are your plans?”

“My work
here is done, for a while,” said Nakor.

“Where
will you go?” asked Miranda.

“Here and
there . . . I will seek out Nalar’s minions and send you word
should I encounter them. And every so often I will encounter likely
candidates for your community and send them to you. And from time to
time I will return to eat your food and drink your wine and see
what’s new and interesting here.”

“You will
always be welcome, Nakor.”

Miranda said,
“Who do you serve, Nakor?”

Nakor grinned.
“Myself. All of us. Everything.” He shrugged. “I
don’t know. Perhaps someday I will, but for now I am content to
wander, learn things, and help out where I may.”

“Well,”
said Pug, reaching for another cup of wine, “stay a while
longer while I bring about the creation of my new council here, and
give me the benefit of your wisdom.”

Nakor said, “If
you think it wisdom, then you do need my advice.”

Miranda laughed.

Trumpets sounded
and drums beat as the Prince and his fiancee departed the throne
room. After six weeks of relative peace since Pug had ended the war,
the crown judged it time to make the formal announcement. Patrick had
just finished informing the court that he and Francine would depart
at the end of the month to return to Rillanon for the royal wedding.
The nobles and influential commoners in the room cheered and waited
to disperse until Patrick escorted Francine out of the hall.

Jimmy approached
Erik von Darkmoor and said, “Captain, I just wanted to tell you
how impressed I am by what I read of your actions in Yabon.”

Erik shrugged.
“After what Pug, Nakor, and the others did, we had little
serious opposition.”

“Those
forced marches, though, must have been punishing.”

“They
were,” said Erik, “but mostly on our feet, since we had
no horses. We had very little problem securing any area we entered,
and once we freed prisoners in Ylith and Zun we had enough men to
leave behind and act as jailers. By the time we reached LaMut, we
were hunting bandits, nothing more. Now that General Nordan has
agreed to lead those who want to leave—and a few who don’t—back
to Novindus, and the rest are being sent down to serve with Duko,
things are getting relatively quiet.”

Jimmy said,
“Still, it was an impressive three weeks.”

“I just
wish we had more ships,” said Erik. “This business of
having to do business with the Quegans to get the invaders back
across the sea has me feeling itchy each time I see a Quegan ship
anchor off of Fishtown.”

“Blame
your old friend,” said Jimmy, pointing at Roo, who stood with
his wife talking to a minor noble.

“Roo
always could smell an opportunity. I just wish I knew how he got the
Quegans to make the deal. They’re usually impossible to deal
with.”

Jimmy shrugged.
“Probably just found something they really wanted and agreed to
get it for them; that’s usually how you do business.”

“I’ll
leave business to Roo. Being the Captain of the Crimson Eagles is
enough for me.”

“I’m
surprised you didn’t accept the promotion,” said Jimmy.

“I’m
happy where I am. Being Captain of the Prince’s Household Guard
is a lot more ceremony than real soldiering.”

“But it’s
one step from there to being Swordmaster for a Duke or the
Knight-Marshal’s position here in Krondor.”

Erik smiled.
“I’m happy. I like running the Crimson Eagles, and I
think the Kingdom needs an army independent of the other nobles. We
might have had a different war had we had Kingdom garrisons in Sarth,
Ylith, and Zun.”

“You may
be right, but the Dukes will resist the idea of garrisons in their
Duchies they don’t control.”

“I’ll
think about that when I return to Krondor,” said Erik. “Right
now I’m going to Ravensburg and to my wife. It’s been
months and I wonder if she remembers what I look like.”

Jimmy said,
“You’re not easy to forget, Captain. Few men come as
large as you.”

Erik laughed and
said, “What of you?”

“I am the
King’s servant. I’ll return with Patrick to Rillanon and
His Majesty will tell me where I serve next. I suspect I’ll be
back in Krondor quickly enough. With Rudolfo dead and Brian unable to
walk since the poisoning, we’ll need a new Duke in Krondor
quickly. Duke Carl survived up in Yabon, but between those two
Duchies we have enough work to keep a score of nobles occupied for a
century.

“I’ll
probably be given a title, and too few resources for too much work.
That’s usually the way it works.”

Erik smiled and
patted Jimmy on the shoulder. “Well do I know that, Jimmy.”

Roo and Karli
joined them and were warmly greeted by both men. Erik said, “When
the Keshians were marching across your estate, how did you avoid
being captured like the others in your area?”

Roo laughed. “We
were sleeping in an outbuilding while we’re rebuilding the
estate house. When the cavalry showed up, they went inside the big
house, and we snuck off into the woods. I have a tidy little cave set
up to lie low in. I stocked it first thing after I returned. Too many
armies running around here in the West for my taste.”

Erik said,
“We’re trying to solve that problem, Roo.” Karli
hid her smile behind her hand.

Roo said, “I
haven’t seen your brother around, Jimmy.”

“Dash is
off somewhere. With everyone heading off to the wedding, he’s
being left behind in charge for a while.”

“I’m
sure he’s distressed at missing the wedding,” said Karli.

Jimmy smiled.
“Probably not as much as he is at the work to be done putting
this city back together again.”

Roo said, “I
know. Someone broke into the basement at Barret’s and took
every scrap of food and all the coffee! How can I open a coffeehouse
without coffee?”

“I guess
you’ll have to buy more,” said Erik. He playfully
squeezed his friend’s shoulder. “You always manage to
find a way to make a deal, my friend.”

Roo smiled. “I
have to work a little harder since Jimmy’s grandfather is no
longer around, but then I’m getting to keep the money I make
rather than pay taxes.”

Jimmy said, “I
could speak to the Prince about that if you’d like.”

Roo put up his
hands in mock surrender, “No, that’s fine. I’ll
pick my own time to bring up the matter of the crown’s debt to
the Bitter Sea Company. Let’s get the West back in order before
we start that long and boring wrangle.”

Karli said,
“There’s your brother, Jimmy. Who’s that he’s
talking to?”

Jimmy turned and
saw Dash entering the room deep in conversation with another man.
“He’s a court functionary, named Talwin. I’m still
a bit vague on what he does for Patrick, but I’ve seen him
around over the last few years. He’s being named Castle Reeve
while everyone else is going to Rillanon for the wedding. I’m
sure he and Dash have a great deal to discuss.”

“You can’t
have it both ways, Dash,” said Talwin. “You’re
either taking care of your duty or you’re not.”

Dash looked at
the head of Royal Intelligence and said, “Look, we’re
going to be stuck together for over a month while the wedding is
going on, so why don’t we agree to work together. You take care
of the business of the Principality and the castle itself, and I’ll
take care of the city.”

“Because
you’re unreliable,” said Talwin.

Dash’s
face flushed in anger. “Explain yourself.”

“Twice in
the last week I know you have arranged to get minor offenders
released without trial.”

“They were
hungry people!” said Dash, raising his voice enough that a few
lingering members of the court turned to look. Dash lowered his
voice. “We’ve got enough trouble dealing with the
prisoners we have. I’m not going to throw a child who stole
bread into a cell with murderers.” Then he laughed. “And
I’m damn well not going to toss him in with those damned
Jikanji cannibals we inherited from Fadawah.”

Talwin laughed.
“Very well, I’ll concede there may be some sense to your
decisions. But since the fighting’s stopped, I’ve noticed
that a great deal of street crime is returning to Krondor, and you’re
far less vigilant than before.”

“I’m
tired,” said Dash. Then he said, “Yes, that’s
exactly it.” He smiled. “You just made me see something
important. Thank you.”

“For
what?”

“For
seeing something I’ve been ignoring for weeks.” He patted
Talwin on the arm. “I’ll have my resignation on your desk
tomorrow.”

“What?”

“I don’t
want to be Sheriff of Krondor any longer,” said Dash. “Find
someone else to do the job for you, Talwin.”

He turned and
walked across the hall to where his brother stood with Erik, Roo, and
Kadi. After he exchanged greetings, he said, “Roo, I could use
employment.”

Jimmy said
“What?”

“I’ve
resigned as Sheriff.”

“Why?”
Jimmy persisted.

“We’ll
talk about that later,” answered Dash. To Roo he said, “Could
you use some help?”

“Someone
of your talents, certainly,” said Roo. “But the last time
I employed you, it ended up costing me a great deal of money.”

Dash grinned.
“Well, then I was really working for my grandfather. This time
I’d be working for myself.”

“Meaning?”

“I think I
would rather seek my own fortune than continue to trade on my
nobility and work for the crown. I think that with the Bitter Sea
Company I can find a position from which I can someday start running
my own business concerns.”

“We can
certainly talk about it,” said Roo. “Come to Barret’s
tomorrow and we’ll discuss the matter.” He took Karli’s
arm. “Now, if you will excuse us, we need to be on our way
home.”

They left and
Erik promised to drop by on his way to Ravensberg. He turned to Dash
and said, “Are you certain about this resignation? The King
might insist you stay.”

“Not if I
resign my offices,” said Dash.

Erik said, “I’ll
leave you two alone to discuss this. I’m off to Ravensburg to
see my wife and family.”

Jimmy grabbed
his younger brother by the arm and steered him to a window, away from
the others who lingered after court. “Are you mad? Resign your
hereditary offices?”

“I may be
mad, big brother, but I’m serious. I will have a resignation on
Talwin’s desk in the morning for him to pass along to Patrick.
Unless the King repeals the Great Freedom, no man can be compelled to
hold office against his will. I don’t need a title. I can do
fine living by my own wits.”

Jimmy looked
appalled. “What about everything we’ve done? What about
Grandfather and Father? Are their deaths for nothing?”

Dash grew angry.
“Don’t throw those deaths in my face, Jimmy. They died
for what they believed in, and my choosing to go another way doesn’t
diminish their sacrifice. I am just tired of living their vision of
what I should be. Who I should be.”

Jimmy said, “Why
don’t you come to Rillanon with me? I’ll get Patrick to
name another Sheriff in your place. We’ll go to the wedding,
then we’ll take ship to Roldem and visit Mother. A week or two
with her and you’ll be aching to get back to your criminals.”