King of Foxes

by Raymond E. Feist

  then to the second man behind him he added, “and you go left. Each man right, then left. Flood the room and draw the defenders away from the doors. Let’s end this!”

  Tal waited as word was passed, then he flipped the latch and charged into the room. For a moment he moved without being noticed, then something seen out of the corner of Kaspar’s eye must have alerted him, for he turned just in time to raise his sword and take Tal’s attack.

  Those near the Duke turned to defend him, but they were quickly engaged by other mercenaries who ran from the servants’ passage. Tal swung a looping overhand blow, then turned it at the last, almost taking Kaspar’s arm off at the shoulder. The big man dodged aside at the last second, his eyes widening in recognition. “Tal!” He slashed back, forcing Tal to give ground. “And with both arms.

  That must be a tale to tell.” He lashed out in a furious combination, which lacked finesse but was effective.

  Tal could not risk taking his eyes off Kaspar, so determined was the Duke to defeat him, but he could sense the rhythm of the fight changing. With his own men attacking from behind, those defending the doors were being overwhelmed.

  Kaspar cut and parried, his face a mask of concentration, oblivious to everything else around him as he sought to kill Tal. Tal knew that he was by far the better swordsman, but he was fatigued, still in pain, and his right hand had not recovered completely. One mistake on his part was all Kaspar needed.

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  All around the two combatants the din of weapons diminished as swords hit the floor and men ceased fighting.

  After a few minutes, the only sounds in the room were the groans of the wounded and the clang of Tal’s and Kaspar’s blades ringing together as they clashed.

  Kaspar’s face was flushed, and his cheeks bulged as he puffed hard, trying to keep his wind. Tal felt his own body ache with the need to end this; but Kaspar was giving him no clear-cut opening.

  Then Kaspar stepped the wrong way, and for an instant his toe touched the leg of a corpse lying on the floor.

  He stumbled, and Tal was upon him like a cat on a mouse.

  Tal got inside Kaspar’s guard and engaged his blade with his own, and with one twisting move had the sword out of Kaspar’s hand. The next moment Kaspar was motionless, Tal’s sword point at his throat.

  Kaspar braced himself for the death stroke, but Tal just kept his sword pressing that vulnerable skin. Then he said, “Bind him!”

  At this point, John Creed came into the room. “You did it!”

  “We did it,” said Tal. He looked around the chamber.

  “And a lot of men paid for the victory with their lives.”

  Creed said, “So, why didn’t you finish him?”

  Tal walked up to look Kaspar in the eyes as two soldiers bound the Duke’s wrists behind his back. “That would have been too quick,” said Tal. “I want him to fully understand what he’s lost, what’s been taken away from him.” He put up his sword. “Besides, I can hang him tomorrow as easily as cut his throat today.”

  Looking around the room, he said, “Make sure everyone knows the citadel is ours. Then pass the word to stop fighting.”

  The Keshian commander of the forces that had been _______________

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  attacking the room approached. “Captain, we will withdraw as we agreed. The citadel is yours.”

  Tal said, “Thank you, and thank your emperor. I don’t suppose there’s much hope of controlling the looting on the way back to the harbor?”

  The Captain shrugged. “Booty is part of war, is it not?” He bowed his head and shouted his orders, and the Keshian Dog Soldiers began withdrawing.

  After the Keshians were gone, Creed said, “If there’s anything of value left in the city when those boys are gone, our lads will be surprised.”

  Tal smiled. “There’s enough in the citadel to make every man here feel rich. We’ll get to that tomorrow.

  Tend to the wounded, and get the staff in the kitchen to start cooking. If everyone else is as hungry as I am, we’re going to eat the entire stores in one day.”

  Creed nodded and started conveying Tal’s orders. Tal glanced around the room, then said to the two guards who held Kaspar, “Keep him here for the time being, but everyone else is to be taken down to the marshaling yard and put under guard.”

  Tal sheathed his sword and made his way out of Kaspar’s throne room and hurried to Kaspar’s family apartment, ignoring the looks he got from frightened servants.

  When he reached Natalia’s door he found a squad of guards waiting. He looked at them and said, “It’s over.

  Kaspar is taken. Throw down your weapons, or I will come back with fifty men. No harm will come to your lady.”

  The men glanced at one another, then slowly put down their swords. “Go down to the marshaling yard and wait; you’ll be given parole in the morning.”

  The guards left slowly, and when they were gone, Tal opened the door to Natalia’s apartment. A blur of motion _______________

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  caused him to duck, and a dagger bounced harmlessly off the wall. Tal called out, “Please don’t throw anything else, Natalia!”

  He looked to the far corner of the room, where Kaspar’s sister waited, another dagger in her hand. “Tal!” she cried, her voice revealing a mixture of relief, happiness, and uncertainty. “Kaspar said you were imprisoned.”

  Then she saw his right hand and added, “And maimed.”

  Tal walked slowly toward her. “I managed to survive it all.”

  “What now?” she said. “Is Kaspar dead?”

  “No, he’s my prisoner,” said Tal.

  “Your prisoner? I thought we were being attacked by Kesh and Roldem.”

  “You were, but in support of my attack on the citadel.”

  He sat on the bed, and motioned for her to come closer.

  She approached slowly and he took her hand. “It’s a very long story, and I’ll tell it to you, but I have many things to do before we can discuss those details. Right now I wish to tell you that you are safe. No harm will come to you, and I will ensure that your status here is respected.”

  “As what?” said Natalia. “Am I your trophy, Tal?”

  He smiled. “You would be a very special one, I’ll admit.” He stood up and took her other hand in his left, and said, “I would be lying if I said I had no feelings for you, Natalia, but I would also be lying if I told you I loved you with all my heart.

  “Moreover, your future is now even less your own than it was before Kaspar was taken. For then you were but a tool for his diplomacy. Now you are much more.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Tal said, “You are heir to Olasko. Your brother’s removal leaves a deadly political vacuum in the region. Kesh will ensure that the Isles don’t try to claim your nation, _______________

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  and the Isles will keep Kesh and Roldem at bay, but others nearby may see this as an opportunity to install their own vassals on Kaspar’s throne. That can’t be allowed.”

  Natalia nodded. “I understand.” She looked at Tal.

  “What of my brother? Is he to die?”

  Tal said, “Only a few people know this of me: I was born in the mountains of the Orosini. Kaspar’s orders destroyed my race. I am perhaps the only male survivor, and the day I knew I would live, I vowed to have vengeance for my people.”

  Natalia said nothing, but her face grew pale and drawn. “I would like to be alone now if you don’t mind, Tal.”

  He bowed and left. When he got outside he saw that a pair of his own soldiers had replaced the Olaskons who had surrendered. “Guard this door and protect the lady inside. I’ll have someone relieve you after a while.”

  They nodded and took up position on either side of the door.

  Tal moved quickly along the hallway, bac
k toward the throne room. There was much to be done yet, but the thing he felt the most need for was a meal. Then perhaps a hot bath. For whatever decisions needed to be made, they didn’t need to be made until the next morning.

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  The day wore on, and before Tal knew it, evening was falling. The entire early part of the day had been devoted to disarming Opardum’s garrison, paroling the soldiers, and directing them to billets outside the citadel. Natalia would need them back soon, but some of those who had served her brother would not be invited to reenlist.

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  Barons Visniya and Stolinko, who between them could take care of the short-term needs of the city and surrounding countryside.

  And a great deal of need was evident, for while the invasion of the city had been completed swiftly, it had been harsh. As Tal had suspected, the retreating Keshians had taken anything of value they could find, and burned many buildings out of spite when they found nothing. Still, Tal instructed the barons to establish a curfew and enlist some men into a provost to protect the citizens from any further looting and violence.

  A message from one of the chirurgeons informed him that Alysandra would live, but it had been a close thing.

  Tal sent a message to the magician’s room to Pug conveying the good news.

  As the day wore on, Tal found himself becoming more anxious. He had won, a victory that seemed easy if one considered only the military costs. Tal knew what price he had paid over the years to achieve this victory. And his tasks were not over yet. There were still two men alive—one now an ally—who were responsible for the destruction of his nation.

  The one thing that really vexed him was Amafi. The traitorous servant had somehow managed to escape during the battle. He had given a clear description of the man to many of his officers, but Amafi was not among the dead or captured. Those prisoners who knew him said that he had vanished from Kaspar’s side only a few minutes before the final assault on the throne room had begun.

  Tal cursed himself for a fool, for Amafi must have used the same servants’ passages to escape that Tal had used to take the citadel. Someday, he knew, if he had the chance, he would find Amafi and make him pay the price for his betrayal.

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  He had eaten his midday meal apart from the others, for he had to decide in his own heart what to do before he could discuss it with anyone else. He knew that Creed would follow his orders, and should he order Quint’s arrest, the former captain would be in chains in minutes.

  He had seen Pug only once, and Nakor twice, and both men seemed immensely disturbed by what they had found in Varen’s apartments. They did not talk about it, but made it clear that, for them, some matter of great importance was still unresolved.

  Tal put aside speculation, knowing they would apprise him of the problem when the time was right. Currently, he had enough problems of his own deal with.

  Visniya approached him as the afternoon session began. “I received a message from the representative of Roldem, Tal. They have a few demands and some suggestions, which are really just politely worded demands.”

  “What?”

  “They want recompense for their fleet being used by the Keshians, which is to say, they’re upset Kesh got to loot the city and they didn’t. We have ample gold in Kaspar’s treasury. The battle went so quickly even the men who were guarding it didn’t think to grab the gold and run.

  “But we’ll also need that gold to rebuild.”

  Tal said, “I will bow to your decision; it’s your city, not mine. But my inclination is to rebuild now and pay debts later.”

  Visniya nodded. “I agree. If we pay Roldem their blood money, we’ll have to tax the people when they can least afford it.”

  “What news from the Isles?”

  “Nothing currently, but I expect a list of their demands to be delivered at any moment,” said Stolinko dryly.

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  Tal went to the table where the others on his ad hoc council waited. “What next?” he said.

  Stolinko said, “Some of the men are asking, Tal. Are you to be the new Duke?”

  Tal laughed. “Wouldn’t that put a bee in the ear of the King of Roldem? He’d turn that fleet around and bring those Keshian soldiers back to turn me out of here.” He shook his head. “No, I have other plans.”

  “Then who will rule?”

  Tal said, “Natalia is the logical choice.”

  “But can she hold Olasko?” asked Visniya. “There are any number of nobles, here and among our neighbors, who would be on the march the moment our mercenaries left if she’s put on the throne alone.”

  “I can’t very well force her to wed someone just to ensure regional stability,” said Tal.

  “Why not?” asked Stolinko. “It’s been done before.”

  Tal thought on it, and said, “Send for Captain Quint and the Lady Natalia.”

  He waited in silence, framing what he would say, and then when they both were in his presence, he said, “I have a pair of problems that need to be addressed.”

  Quint glanced at the Lady Natalia and bowed slightly.

  She ignored him.

  “Quint,” began Tal, “I have a problem. First, I must confess that I have lied to you in the past.”

  Quint shrugged and said, “In this court it would have been more remarkable if you hadn’t.”

  “Do you remember the story you told me about the boy Raven killed?”

  Quint nodded.

  “Well, that boy didn’t die, Quint. I was that boy.”

  Quint’s eyebrows raised as if he had difficulty believing his ears. “You?”

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  “To the best of my knowledge, I am the last Orosini male alive.”

  Quint looked uncomfortable. “You were plotting Kaspar’s overthrow all along?”

  Tal nodded, and saw Natalia’s eyes flash, though she said nothing. Still, Tal had a fair notion of what she thought, for they had been lovers, and she now must wonder how much of what he had said to her were lies, too.

  Quint studied Tal’s face for a long moment, then he un-buckled his sword belt and let it fall. “Tal, you saved my life by getting me off that rock, and you kept us alive all the way from the Fortress of Despair through the wilderness to Bardac’s Holdfast. If my death is the price for the freedom I’ve had this last year, so be it. I won’t fight you.” Then he chuckled. “Not that I could beat you, anyway, with a sword.”

  Tal said, “I have given something said to me last night a great deal of thought. I am at a crossroads, and I must decide what the rest of my life will be.

  “I am going to spare your life, Quint. For you have only been a good servant, albeit to a bad master.” He looked at Natalia, and said, “And you had no choice in who your brother was. I know you well enough to realize that you had no part in his murderous schemes.”

  She said nothing.

  “Here is what must be done,” said Tal. “Natalia, you must rule in Opardum, as Duchess of Olasko. But the region must be stabilized. You must swear fealty to Aranor, from this day forward. Aranor and Olasko will be provinces of Roldem, and never again will either have any claim on Roldem’s throne.”

  Visniya leaned over and said softly, “You can ignore Roldem’s demands for quite a while after that gesture.”

  “But you’ll need a strong hand to defend this realm,”

  Tal continued, “so I’m recommending you return com-

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  mand of your armies to Special Captain Quint, and name him along with my lords Visniya and Stolinko as a council of three to advise you until you decide whom you should wed. Put no fool or ambitious man on the throne be
side you, m’lady, and good will come of this.”

  She bowed, looking somewhat relieved. She turned to Quint and said, “Captain, I would be pleased if you would return to the service of your nation. I need you far more than my brother ever did.”

  Quint bowed.

  Pug, Magnus, and Nakor entered the room and took up positions behind Tal and his captains. Tal looked at them and nodded. Pug leaned forward and whispered to him, “Alysandra will live. We’ve taken her back to Sorcerer’s Isle. We can heal her flesh wounds, but as for the other things Varen did to her?” He shrugged. Louder, he said, “Finish this. We will talk afterward.”

  Tal glanced around the room and declared, “Bring in the prisoner.”

  A short while later, Kaspar was brought into the room.

  He had been stripped of his armor and wore only a black tunic and leggings. His feet were bare: Tal assumed that an enterprising soldier had discovered his feet were the same size as the Duke’s.

  Kaspar’s wrists were in manacles and he was hobbled with leg irons, but he still appeared defiant. When he finally stopped in front of Tal, the younger man said, “Kaspar, what have you to say?”

  Kaspar laughed. “You won and I lost. What else is there to say?”

  “You’ve ordered the destruction of innocents and have murdered out of naked ambition. You’ve caused suffering you cannot begin to imagine. If I could contrive a way to have you live your life understanding that pain every day, _______________

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  I would. But alive you are a danger, so I must order you be hanged.”

  “For revenge?” asked Kaspar. “Disguised as justice, it’s still revenge, Tal.”

  Tal sat back. “I’m sick of killing, Kaspar. But there is no other way.”

  From behind him, Pug said, “Perhaps there is.”

  Tal looked over his shoulder and the magician stepped closer. “If you mean what you say, if you wish for Kaspar to be in a place where he can dwell on his crimes, yet not be a threat to anyone here, would you spare his life?”