Serpent's Blood

by Brian Stableford

  "I did promise," he said weakly.

  "Perhaps nothing will come of it, if the king refuses his permission but have I any reason to think that I would be better off in your service than in hers?" Carus Fraxinus was still puzzled and still hesitant.

  "I'm a good master,"

  he said.

  "Anyone in Xandria will tell you so. I'm very well known in the city. As for Princess Lucrezia. . . it's not for me to say anything at all about the lady, but. . ."

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  "I shouldn't need to be selling myself as a bondsman to any master,"

  Andris said, deciding that it might be better to steer the conversation to safer ground.

  "I didn't injure the guardsman. I was simply trying to protect a blind man who was caught up in the brawl.

  If you have as much influence as you claim, can you not see that justice is done? Were I a free man, we could bargain on a fairer basis- and I'd have no need to sell myself for a royal pardon, for any purpose. "

  Fraxinus stared at him contemplatively.

  "How might I prove your innocence?" he enquired, seemingly taking the matter entirely seriously.

  "Ask the injured man where I was when he was hit from behind. Ask the story-teller- he's blind, but neither deaf nor stupid. The man who struck the blow was almost as tall as I am, but stouter. He was part of a company of villains who seemed to be plotting something. Other people who were in the tavern might know his name. I'd be very grateful for your help, if you could do this. I'd certainly draw you a map . . . and you'd be serving the ends of Xandrian justice, which the law has not."

  "Do you know the story-teller's name?" Fraxinus asked dubiously. "No, but if he regularly plies his trade about the harbour he shouldn't be too difficult to find. He told me a tale which he attributed to something called the Apocrypha of Genesys, of which I have never heard. It concerned a Serpent and a Salamander and a place called Idun. That's another name for the Navel of the World, is it not?"

  Andris had assumed in saying this that tales from the so-called Apocrypha of Genesys must be commonplace in Xandria, but he saw in Fraxinus's expression that this was not so.

  "Can you remember the tale?" the merchant asked curiously. "Only that it had to do with gifts of trees, in return for which the forefathers made bold promises. It was dressed up very ornately with proverbs and the like, like the Lore of Genesys which everybody knows. It wasn't the kind of tale which has a readily discernible meaning- I doubt if the man makes an abundant living unless he knows a few which are far funnier and somewhat dirtier. Is it of any significance?"

  "Probably not," Fraxinus admitted.

  "But still, I have become 67

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  interested of late inJaearing anything which

  has to do with those legendary regions. I shall try to find your story-teller, Andris Myrasol. . . and if I do, I shall see what might be done to reopen your case and prove your innocence. But I want your solemn promise that as soon as you are free you will draw me a map of the Navel of the World."

  "Prove me innocent," Andris said, 'and I'll draw you all the maps you want that I swear. But you'd better hurry, for I can't tell where I might be sent on the princess's service, if the king lends his blessing to the offer she has made. "

  The merchant nodded, and would have turned away, but Andris interrupted him.

  "By the way," he said, 'do you know of a man named Theo Zabio - an amber from Ferentina like myself, who might have come to Xandria a long time ago? "

  Fraxinus thought for a minute, then slowly shook his head.

  "Was he a merchant?" he asked.

  "I doubt it," Andris said sourly.

  "Like myself, he probably arrived a vagabond, although he was well enough born. If my own experience is anything to go by, I fear that he's as likely to have been enslaved to the wall, or embarked upon some criminal career, as to have become respectable and rich. Still, I had hoped . . ."

  Fraxinus nodded sympathetically.

  "I'll ask after Theo Zabio too," he promised.

  "If I don't hear of him in the better parts of town I'll go to Checuti, the so-calJed prince of thieves who's an amiable man in spite of his vocation, and who seems to know everyone. I need that map, you see, and I'm a (nan to be reckoned with, even if I'm not a princess of the realm. Be cheerful, my friend- one way or another, you'll not be going to the wall."

  As the man passed our of sight, Andris permitted himself a broad and beaming smile. He did indeed feel cheerful more cheerful than he had in many a year.

  "My luck is turning," he told the patient spider, as soon as he had regained his former position.

  "I feel it in my bones. Merchants and princesses are vying for my service and fighting for my rights. The worst is over, my friend. Tomorrow, or the next day, I'll be heading for fortune and fame!"

  Belin, ever the silent sceptic, didn't say a word.

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  9 tacom cerri removed his sword belt and sank down gratefully J on to the wooden bench that ran around the guardroom wall. It had once been upholstered with some fibrous substance but the cushioning had long since been devoured by assiduous pests, leaving nothing but the rotted wood to support a guardsman's weary bones. Half an hour remained until the end of the shift, when the men would be relieved of their posts, but captaincy had its privileges, and he was not compelled to keep a constant eye on his loyal watchers. Alas, he was not to be allowed to enjoy his early retirement from duty. There was an abrupt knock on the guardroom door, and he sprang to his feet as it opened.

  He was expecting his commanding officer, or some complaining courtier, but the man who entered was obviously neither of those.

  Jacom stared at him blankly for a few seconds, not knowing quite what it was that made him so hesitant. The other stared at him equally blankly. Then they realised, with a simultaneous shock of surprise, that they knew one another.

  "Carus Fraxinus!" said Jacom, who was the first to connect the familiar face with a name. Fraxinus was the merchant to whom his father sold the greater part of his produce. He had been a regular visitor to the estate at one time, although he had delegated that part of his business to his son in recent years.

  Fraxinus was every bit as surprised as he was.

  "Why," he said, 'it's Arnal Cerri's boy, isn't it? I remember you when you were just a babe in arms. So you're a guardsman now- and a captain, too! "

  " Yes indeed," Jacom agreed proudly. He knew that the merchant must be well aware of the fact that his commission was a purchase made by an ambitious father who wanted his favourite son to be something other than a fruit-grower and pig-farmer, but he 69

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  nevertheless felt entitled to be proud of his

  position. He advanced and shook the oldefman's hand firmly.

  "Of course," said Fraxinus, remembering.

  "You had a fencing master when I saw you last, and there were archery targets hanging from the branches of your father's plum trees. What luck! I come in search of a guard-captain, in trepidation as to how I might be received, and I find the son of an old friend."

  "Trepidation?" Jacom echoed dazedly.

  "Why trepidation?"

  "Because I came to ask a favour, and might have been rudely sent packing-not, of course, that I expect any favours from you because I know your father, but I dare to be confident that if you find it necessary to send me packing you'll do so politely and bear no grudge."

  "What favour?" Jacom asked, aware that he was being subtly flattered, and equally aware of his own susceptibility.

  "I've j
ust come from the prison," Fraxinus said.

  "Don't look so astonished, I beg you. I came to visit a prisoner--a man who might be of considerable use to me if I could secure his services. I wanted to pay his fine in return for his entering my employ, but he has had another offer from within the citadel, and the matter now seems much more complicated thamit did before. It may be that I shall have to prove him innocent in Order to get what I need from him. I wondered if perchance the guard-captain or one of his men might have useful information. The prisoner in question is the exceptionally tall man who looks like a dark lander -- do you perhaps know who arrested him?"

  i Jacom felt a dreadful sinking sensation. He needed to sit down, but didn't feel able to do so until he had invited Fraxinus to do so too after which he seemed to have admitted the man entirely into his confidence, in spite of the fact that he didn't want to tell him anything that might make trouble for his men or himself. "You mean Myrasol -- the northerner," Jacom said cautiously, when they were both settled on the hard bench.

  "Do you know him?"

  "It was my men who arrested him, and one of my men whose leg was broken in the fight which occasioned the arrest."

  "Ah!" said the merchant, immediately seeing his difficulty.

  "I didn't realise that. When I spoke of his innocence, I didn't necessarily mean to imply that he actually is innocent. It simply file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Brian%20Stableford%20-%20Serpents%20Blood.TXT (74 of 495) [11/1/2004 12:26:20 AM]

  seemed to be a

  possible avenue of exploration."

  "Of course," said Jacom tepidly.

  "As it happens, there is some doubt about it. He may well have been falsely accused by the other witnesses. The injured man wasn't well enough to testify, and neither I nor my sergeant saw the blow struck. But I'm not sure you'd be able to obtain more honest testimony than was offered to the magistrate- and in any case, wouldn't it be simpler to buy the man out than to drag the case back into court?"

  "Perhaps," Fraxinus agreed.

  "At least, it would be, if Myrasol hadn't applied for a royal pardon and the Princess Lucrezia hadn't offered to get it for him."

  "Princess Lucrezia?" Jacom echoed, not trying to conceal his astonishment.

  "What would she want with the amber? Male servants aren't allowed in the Sanctum, and even if they were . . ."

  "I don't know," Fraxinus said.

  "I'll have to ask my associate Hyry Keshvara -she knows Lucrezia well, and she might have said something to spark the princess's interest. I hope the princess wants him for the same reason I do- to draw a map but there's another possibility which . . . well, let's just say that I'd far rather she was interested in his mapmaking skills. If you happen to hear anything, I'd be grateful if you'd let me know."

  "Why should you be interested in a northern mapmaker?" Jacom asked.

  "Xandrian sailor men are the only ones who know how to find their way around the Slithery Sea and its shores."

  "It's a long story," Fraxinus said.

  "Was there an old storyteller present when you arrested the amber? A blind man?"

  "Yes. He was knocked out but he recovered quickly enough. What happened to him after that I don't know."

  "Had you seen him before? Do you know his name?"

  "No but he wouldn't be any use as a witness. He really was blind it wasn't an act put on for the sake of sympathy."

  "I've another reason for being interested in him, too. I dare say there've always been story-tellers in Xandria avid to recite the ApocryphaofGenesysfortbepriceofa jug of wine, and it's perfectly probable that the northern map makers disembark from foreign ships four or five times a year, but until now there hasn't been the slightest reason for anyone to take an interest, so I haven't. Isn't it always the way that as soon as you find out that you need something, it becomes frustraringly difficult to find?

  Such is life."

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  "Always the way," Jacom echoed un enthusiastically He wondered how mucntrouble he might be in if the amber were able to prove his innocence with Fraxinus's help. Sergeant Purkin certainly wouldn't be pleased if--or when-he found out what was going on.

  Fraxinus smiled, warmly enough but just a trifle wanly.

  "Should you discover anything," he said,

  "I'd be most obliged if you could send a messenger- of course, if you'd be able to come yourself, I'd be very happy to open a bottle of fresh Khalornian wine so that we could enjoy ourselves a little. I'd be glad to hear news of your father and his neighbours. My son Xury will be returning from his travels in three or four days- he'll doubtless be pleased to see you, and I dare say that you'll feel much more at ease in the company of someone your own age than you can in the company of an old man like me- but if you learn anything that might interest me, please call before then. The house is on the seaward side of Tore Hill. Anyone in the neighbour hood will point you in the right direction- everyone knows me thereabouts. I really would be grateful anything at all."

  Although he nodded in response to the invitation, Jacom felt that it might be better were he to be uAable to accept it, at least for a little while. On the other hand, he knew perfectly well that there was one item of information which Fraxfnus might be very glad to have. After a brief struggle, his conscience pressured him into spitting it out.

  "There was another man nearby when Herriman was hurt," he said slowly.

  "A man named Burdam Thrid. He might have been the man responsible. I believe he works for a man named Checuti."

  "Does he indeed?" said Fraxinus.

  "Everyone knows him, too, so I hear. Checuti, I mean."

  "Oh yes," Fraxinus confirmed.

  "Everybody knows Checuti, at least by reputation. Whereas my reputation works to my benefit, however, his will one day ensure his damnation. It really doesn't do to get a reputation as a prince of thieves it's the kiss of death to a productive career. If he has any sense he'll get out of Xandria while the going's good. I must admit that I rather like him, and I can't help wishing that he'd turn his cleverness to less dubious ends. I was going to send a message to him anyway, to enquire after some relative of Myrasol's.

  I'll ask him about Thrid -- delicately, of course. Thanks for the suggestion."

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  "You're welcome," said Jacom dolefully. An uncomfortable feeling that he needed to justify himself made him add: "When one of my men gets hurt in a brawl, I like to see justice done and the true offender punished. I really don't have anything against the amber." Fraxinus raised a quizzical eyebrow.

  "Of course not," he said politely.

  "Should I find out anything further, I will of course be very glad to share the information. Do come to my house, even if you don't have any news for me. It really would be pleasant to see you there. Don't leave it too long.

  I expect to be setting out on a long journey in the not too distant future, and I might be away for a long time."

  "That's why you need a mapmaker, no doubt," Jacom observed, to prove that he had his wits about him.

  "It is," Fraxinus confirmed.

  "We'll need a few fighting men too.

  Aulakh Phar will hire us a dozen dark landers but it certainly wouldn't hurt if I could recruit a few extra men of Myrasol's impressive stature. If your sergeant knows any ex-guardsmen who are finding civilian life too dull tell him to suggest that they get in touch with me. "

  "Where are you headed?" Jacom asked curiously.

  "Across the Dragomite Hills and the Soursweet Marshes, to the legendary Pool of Life."

  "The Dragomite Hills are impassable," Jacom said.

  "Everybody knows that."

  "They always have been," Fraxinus admitted.

  "But it seems that some mysterious blight has starved all b
ut a few of the drago mites and the few that are left are too busy tearing one another apart to attack travellers. The southern limit of the empire is a limit no longer-at least until the mounds recover from the catastrophe. I never could resist a window of opportunity, Jacom - and life has become so very tedious since Xury took over all the hard work. I feel the need for one last adventure, and I'd like it to be the greatest of them all. Perhaps I ought to petition Belin for a company of guardsmen, on the grounds that the breach in the hills might have political implications. How would you like to visit all those places of which the Lore of Genesys speaks so enigmatically?" Jacom was not the kind of man to place much credence in ancient myths, and he had heard all the familiar horror stories 73

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  pa bout the monstrously unearthly drago mites

  which had filled a vast swathe of territory with their castel late mounds.

  Nevertheless, he felt compelled to say: "I wish I could come with you, but ..

  ." He left the sentence hanging because he didn't know how to finish it.

  The merchant got up to leave just as the first of Jacom's men were returning from the shift, complaining in their usual ritual fashion about anything and everything. They stared after the merchant as he left, and Sergeant Purkin darted an insolently inquisitive glance in Jacom's direction.

  "He's an old friend of the family," Jacom said defensively.

  "I've known him since I was a child."

  "I guess you need connections like that to become a captain," the sergeant replied, in a carefully neutral voice.

  "Still, they do say that he's the only honest man in Xandria." The tone of his voice suggested that this was not a wholehearted compliment.

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  10 BY the time Lucrezia left the Inner Sanctum it was the twenty eighth hour.

  The stars were shining brightly, illuminating the worn stones of the courtyard but leaving the coverts and cloisters which hugged the citadel walls in deep shadow. There were lights in the stables and in the coinery, but the route which took her to the place appointed for her audience with the king passed through several unlit corridors. Because the meeting was to be in Belin's private quarters rather than the throne room- which he usually employed for all formally requested audiences, including those with his wives and children the latter part of the route was unfamiliar to her, but Lucrezia refused to allow herself the least feeling of discomfiture.