'It's what Kalkin showed you,' said Nakor. With a grin, he added, 'And Banath is not called the Trickster for nothing. Who knows what his agenda is?'
'Certainly not to see the world of Midkemia destroyed.'
'No,' said Miranda. 'But there may be far more to it than merely a risk to humanity and the other intelligent races here. Nakor's right. Banath can have shown you only part of the truth. Just your description of these . . .'
'Dasati,' supplied Kaspar.
'. . . Dasati,' continued Miranda, 'leaves me wondering. Cruelty, I know. We've witnessed enough of it right here on Midkemia.' She fixed Kaspar with a baleful look, but made no further comment. 'We are . . . or rather, Kaspar is, only aware of what he was allowed to see. Logic dictates that there must be more to that society than simple cruelty and self-interest. To have reached such a plateau of power and organization requires a certain willingness to cooperate and make sacrifices.'
'Different rules and laws, is what Kalkin said.' Kaspar smiled. 'I had such thoughts as well after seeing it. But I know enough about civic authority and ruling a population to know that you may hold sway through power and terror for a while, but you do not build a centuries-old culture that way.'
'This is becoming abstract,' Magnus said. 'Perhaps they achieved their social pinnacle, and then changed. But whatever the cause, we need to worry about who they are now and what their intentions may be.'
'If what I saw is accurate,' said Kaspar, 'they have no intentions yet, but if they become aware of us, then I suspect they will conquer first and ask questions later. Kalkin mentioned that the Dasati empire spanned worlds.'
'Assumptions?' asked Pug.
'That we move quickly,' said Magnus.
Miranda nodded. 'I think we fetch this Talnoy here, now, and start examining it.'
Nakor said, 'I think I will venture to the temple of Banath in the City of Kesh, and see if any of my old friends there have any inkling of what Banath—or Kalkin,' he nodded to Kaspar, 'has to say on the subject. It would not surprise me to find out they know a great deal or nothing at all, but one should ask. I will return in two days.' He left the room.
'Very well,' said Pug. 'We agree that time is of the essence, so Magnus, take Kaspar back to Opardum and fetch the Talnoy and bring it back here.' To his wife he said, 'You and I should discuss who is to work with us.'
She nodded, and Kaspar stood up. He looked at Magnus and said, 'Where to now?'
Magnus put his hand on Kaspar's shoulder and suddenly they were in the back room behind the kitchen of the River House. 'Here,' said Magnus.
Kaspar felt his knees go slightly weak for a moment then, gathering himself, he said, 'I will never get used to that.'
Magnus smiled. 'Wait here while I speak to Tal.'
In a few minutes Tal returned with Magnus. 'The three of us should go to your room and collect that thing,' Magnus said.
'Why the three of us?' asked Kaspar.
'Because we could use an extra sword and there aren't a lot of people I can take the time to explain things to,' said Magnus impatiently. 'Just come along and let's get on with it.'
The three men left the River House and hurried to Kaspar's room at the inn. The hour was late and Tal had finished showing out the last customer before Kaspar and Magnus appeared. The streets echoed with the sound of their boots upon the cobbles, and they moved purposefully but alertly through the dark streets of Opardum.
As they neared the inn, Kaspar held up his hand. Whispering, he said, 'Something's wrong.'
'What?' asked Magnus.
'I see them,' said Tal. 'Two men in the shadows, one opposite the inn, lurking in a doorway, another just at the corner of the alley on this side of the building.'
'I saw nothing,' said Magnus.
Kaspar stepped back into the shadows, and motioned the others to follow suit. 'If those are the same men who followed Amafi and me earlier tonight . . .' He glanced at the dark sky, 'It is the same night, isn't it?'
Magnus nodded.
'If it is the same two, then Amafi was right and we're being followed.' He glanced around. 'If I hurry back and loop around and come down the alley quietly, I should be able to get a good look at the one at the corner without him being aware of it.'
Tal said, 'I'm more likely to do it without being noticed, Kaspar.'
'Yes,' said the former duke, 'but you don't know what they looked like.'
'Floppy hats, large cloaks?'
'Yes.'
'Did you see their faces?'
'No.'
'Then you don't know what they look like either. Wait here.'
Kaspar and Magnus waited. 'They must have followed Amafi here, and are now waiting to see when I'll show up.'
'Perhaps others have already gone inside and taken your man?'
Kaspar chuckled. 'Hardly. The Talnoy would have prevented that, given my instructions; anyone else who entered the room besides Amafi or myself was to be incapacitated.'
About five minutes after Tal departed a commotion erupted in the alleyway, and Kaspar and Magnus saw the man opposite the door to the inn race towards the alley, drawing his sword.
Kaspar drew his own blade. 'All right then, here we go!' He charged down the street and turned into the alley in time to see Tal standing over one fallen man and beating back the other with a furious assault. Kaspar stuck the point of his sword in the small of the man's back and shouted, 'That's enough!'
The man froze and let his sword fall. Tal stepped forward and pulled the man's hat off, then Kaspar spun him around.
The man was a stranger. Kaspar looked at Tal and said, 'You're more likely not to be noticed?'
Tal shrugged. 'So I'm out of practice.'
Magnus stepped up to the man and said, 'Who sent you?'
The man looked at his fallen comrade and then at Magnus and Tal. Magnus said, 'Do not try to deceive us, man. We have means to make you speak the truth!'
The dark-cloaked man lunged forward as if to attack Magnus, and Kaspar struck him hard across the face with the hilt of his sword. The man went facedown onto the cobbles. Then he tried to get up. Too late, Magnus shouted, 'Hold him!'
By the time Tal and Kaspar had hold of him, he was already convulsing. 'He's taken poison,' said Magnus.
Tal went to inspect the first man he had fought. 'He's dead also.'
Magnus knelt beside him, put his hand inside his shirt and pulled out a medallion. He swore. 'Not again!'
'What is it?' asked Tal.
Magnus held out the medallion. It was a base metal of some sort, perhaps pewter, blacked. In bas-relief a single hawk had been inscribed. 'What does this mean?' asked Kaspar.
'The Nighthawks,' said Magnus.
'Who?' asked Kaspar.
Tal shrugged.
'The Guild of Death. It's been forty or more years since we encountered them. I'll let my father tell you more about them, but for the moment, we'd better make haste.' He motioned for Kaspar to enter the inn first.
They went in and found the common room deserted, which was not unexpected this time of night. Kaspar went to his door and knocked twice. Amafi opened it, and said, 'Magnificence! You are well!' Then he looked past Kaspar and said, 'And not alone.'
Kaspar motioned for the others to wait outside, entered the room and approached the Talnoy. Slipping on the ring he said, 'Do not attack anyone.' He took the ring off again and motioned for Magnus and Tal to enter. 'Were you followed?' asked Kaspar of Amafi.
'Yes, by the same two men who followed us earlier. I sent word with a boy to the River House.'
'He never got there,' said Tal. 'They must have stopped him.'
Magnus said, 'Then the boy is certainly dead.' He looked over to the corner where the Talnoy stood motionless. He stood in front of it for a few moments, then said, 'I know what the monk meant, Kaspar. There is a wrongness here that . . . I can't explain. But this thing does not belong in our world.'
'Then,' said Kaspar, 'I suggest we take it to your father and see what he c
an do about getting it off this world.'
Magnus shook his head. 'No.'
'What do you mean "no"?' asked Kaspar. 'I thought this was what we came for?'
'Tal? Do you sense it?'
Tal Hawkins stared at the silent black visage. He put his hand on the armor for a moment, then said, 'Something . . .'
'Talwin has a knack few without magic ability have, the ability to sense magic being used. Whatever foul arts trapped a soul within this armor is still strong and . . . dangerous.' Magnus turned to look at Kaspar. 'You may be safe, because the ring gives you control over this creature, but I am not. I will return to my father and consult with him.'
Suddenly Magnus was gone.
Tal sat on the bed. 'I hate it when he does that.'
Kaspar sat at the other end. 'I know.'
They waited.
More than an hour passed, and suddenly Magnus reappeared. He said, 'Father instructs me to bring you and the Talnoy to a specific place on the island where he and my mother have begun erecting wards to protect us from it, as well as to hide it from anyone seeking it.'
'Hide it?' said Kaspar. 'We're in Opardum, then in a moment, we'll be thousands of miles away. Why would anyone look for it on your island?'
'There are far more useful methods of detection than simply looking under rocks,' said Magnus. 'This thing contains alien magic, and the only reason Varen or his agents haven't found it is because they are not sure what they are looking for. Now that I have seen it, touched it, I could find this . . . artifact anywhere on this world.'
Kaspar and Tal stood up, while Amafi stayed seated in the corner.
Magnus said, 'Get the thing to stand in the middle of the room.' To Tal he said, 'I will send word if we need your help. Thank you for your part in this.'
'Keep me informed, Magnus,' Tal said. 'I am willing to serve if need be.'
Kaspar slipped on the ring and ordered the Talnoy to step forward and it did.
Magnus said, 'Gather around.'
'Magnificence?' questioned Amafi.
'You'd better come along, too,' said Kaspar.
Amafi looked relieved. 'Sir.'
They gathered closely and Magnus put his hands on Kaspar and Amafi's shoulders; and suddenly the group was standing in a clearing behind the villa.
Amafi gaped at what he saw around him. It was late—nearly midnight at their present location—and still people were hurrying about on various errands. Many were foreign-looking in their apparel, and a few were clearly not human.
Kaspar said, 'I think it'll take some getting used to.'
'Magnificence, I agree.'
Pug and Miranda stood nearby, and Kaspar saw they had appeared inside a circle defined by five points of amber crystal which glowed from within. 'Step out of the circle, quickly,' Pug instructed.
They did so, and Pug said, 'Stand back.' He waved his hands and Kaspar saw that Miranda and Magnus mimicked his movements. The crystals flared brightly for a moment, then the light was reduced to a faint glow.
Pug said, 'Anyone looking for this will have to be a very powerful magician to locate it.'
'Very powerful,' echoed Miranda.
Pug said, 'Let me have the ring, please.'
Kaspar took the ring out of his pouch and handed it to Pug. The magician placed it on the palm of his hand and looked closely at it. 'This is nothing made by the hand of mortal man, obviously.'
Magnus said, 'Both the ring and the artifact positively reek, Father.'
'Once the wards hiding this thing in the cave were disturbed . . .' Pug started. 'We may never know how that happened, but I have my suspicions.'
Pug silently examined the Talnoy, while Kaspar, Amafi, Magnus and Miranda waited outside the circle of wards. Others from the community gathered, and Amafi whispered, 'Magnificence, what manner of place is this?' He stared at a creature with coal-black skin and bright red eyes who was watching Pug intently.
'A school, if you can believe it,' said Kaspar. Looking at Pug, he said, 'And a great deal more.'
The examination went on for more than an hour, but no one grew bored and departed. Everyone was content to stand quietly and observe, while Pug examined the Talnoy. Only an occasional whisper broke the night's quiet.
Finally, Pug said, 'Let us go to my study.'
Kaspar and Amafi followed Magnus, Miranda and Pug, while the other inhabitants of the island dispersed, returning to whatever tasks awaited them, or to bed. Amafi looked from place to place as they walked through the large villa, the garden, and into the halls leading to Pug's private study.
Once inside, Pug said, 'It is a very evil thing you have brought us, Kaspar.'
Kaspar said, 'I find that no surprise, Magician.'
'I fear it is everything you said, and more,' said Pug. He sat down at his desk and indicated for the others to be seated. Miranda came to stand behind her husband, putting her hands on his shoulders, while Magnus remained standing in the corner. Kaspar and Amafi took the two chairs opposite Pug. 'I think we shall wait for Nakor to return before I make a final decision, but I am ready to concede that what you say you saw was indeed what menaces this world.'
'Even one of these creatures would take some effort to destroy, and an army of such . . .' Pug let the thought trail off. 'We shall have an end to it, though.' He was silent for a bit, then said, 'Magnus, you had something else?'
Magnus stepped forward and put the Nighthawk's medallion on the desk. 'Two men tried to follow Kaspar in order, I believe, to find the Talnoy.'
Pug sat back in his chair, an expression of disgust on his face. 'The Guild of Death, after all these years.'
'The Guild of Death?' prompted Kaspar.
Pug's dark eyes studied Kaspar's face. 'There were, in reality, two guilds. The original was a brotherhood, a sort of extended family, who were among the most lethal assassins in the history of the Kingdom and Kesh. They operated out of Krondor, Kesh City and Salador for nearly sixty years. Over that time they were infiltrated, or some members turned loyalties, but by the time people I knew began to encounter them they had been . . . subverted to serve dark forces. Before they had been a small group, no more than fifty, who killed by contract and mostly for political reasons. By the time my friends encountered them, they were already under the sway of those who sought to plunge the Kingdom into chaos.'
'A dear friend, Duke James of Krondor, when he was old Prince Arutha's squire with my first son, William, and a student of mine discovered their stronghold, an old military fortress out in the Jal-Pur desert. He found hundreds of them trying to conjure a demon into our realm.' Pug sighed. 'Prince Arutha and his army killed hundreds of them down there.'
'Later I met a man . . .' He looked at Kaspar. 'You knew this man as Leso Varen. When I met him, he was called Sidi. He's had other names, as well. And other bodies, from what I can judge. You know who he works for?'
Kaspar said, 'That was explained to me.' He turned to Amafi and said, 'And you don't need to know.'
'Magnificence,' said Amafi with a slight bow. 'I rejoice in my ignorance.'
'This man, Varen for now, is the . . . leader, for lack of a better term, of those who seek to open the doors to chaos and destruction and plunge this world into the sort of madness you've witnessed, Kaspar.'
'I understand,' said Kaspar, 'so the point is, Varen was the leader of the Nighthawks.'
'In a way, yes. He had other agents as well. In any event, if the Nighthawks are following you, it means only one thing. Varen is interested in you, and not because you were his host for several years. He may not know what it is you possess here.'
He pointed to the Talnoy. 'But he knows something important has come your way. Most likely he had agents around the world looking for a sign of you, but most would be in Olasko against the possibility of your return.'
Kaspar said, 'Or they may have simply been looking for some magical sign of the Talnoy, and not realized who I was.'
'Perhaps,' said Miranda. 'Trying to guess the enemy's next move is
useful; trying to guess what they are thinking is pointless.'
Pug nodded in agreement. 'In any event I think you may safely leave this matter to us.' He studied Kaspar. 'You've still got accounts to settle. I believe you were under Varen's influence, but you have plenty of blood on your own hands. Still, if you'd like, I'll ask Talwin Hawkins to speak to the Duke on your behalf.'
Kaspar laughed. 'Thank you for that, Magician, but I doubt you've enough magic between the three of you here to convince Rodoski to let me remain in Olasko. I know I wouldn't if our places were reversed. Even if I behave myself, there are others who would use my presence as an excuse to undercut his authority. Moreover, now that Olasko is part of Roldem, King Carol would probably rather have an army of Talnoy in Opardum than me. No, I'll move on.'
'You have plans?'
'Some, but they're not quite finalized. But one favor, if I might, Magician. Could you arrange it for me to see my sister once before I leave Olasko again?'
'Assuredly,' said Pug. To Magnus he said, 'Find our guests some rooms while I send a message to Talwin Hawkins.' To Kaspar he said, 'Stay here for a few days and when we can, we'll return you to Olasko. If Varen's Nighthawks are out looking for you, it wouldn't do to have you lingering in Opardum.'
'Agreed.'
Magnus motioned for Kaspar and Amafi to follow him and led them down a long hall into another wing of the villa. He escorted them to a comfortable room containing two beds. 'Wait here,' he instructed.
A few moments later he reappeared with a young sandy-haired and blue-eyed man, and said, 'This is Malikai. I've asked him to see to any needs you may have while you're with us.'
Kaspar smiled. 'And to keep an eye on us as well?'
'Hardly necessary,' said Magnus. 'We're on an island, so there aren't a lot of places for you to go. But there are a few we'd rather not have you wander into, for your own safety. I don't know how long you're to be with us, so we'll see to some clothing as well as food while you're here.'
Magnus departed and Malikai said, 'Sirs? Is there anything you need right now?'
'Nothing more than a good night's sleep,' said Kaspar, sitting and removing his boots. 'We came from a bit farther east and I'm not sure what time it is here . . .'
Exile's Return Page 24
