Blood-crimson, life-giving blood from the heart-poured out of the duke, spurting and swirling into the cup. Its torrent caused the man to sway, though still he bared his skin to the instruments of his religion. In five seconds the vessel was full, and the Nightmaster, who had tucked his dagger back within his robe, touched the wound and murmured an invocation, a humble plea to the healing power of his dark lord.
The bleeding stopped. The man, still swaying, did not topple. Instead, his expression changed, his grimace fading to a look of exhaustion. His face was pale, chalky white, though it brightened into a beatific smile of pure pleasure. Gently, the man closed his shirt, adjusting the flap of the collar, straightening the creases tucked within his belt.
His eyes opened, and he watched the priest turn toward the broken scale. The Nightmaster set the cup of blood on the solid half of the scale, and under its weight the scale began to shift until the disk of metal lowered to rest upon the red silk. In a flash of smoke it was gone, and in its place were several gleaming coins.
For the first time the worshiper’s expression betrayed a hint of doubt. The Nightmaster took the coins in his hand, counting out three for the kneeling man, keeping the same number for himself. Each was a large disk, pure platinum, engraved with great skill to display the image of a merchant’s scale on one side, and the mingled image of a Crown, a Rose, and a Sword on the other.
“Only three?” the man asked, taking his coins and studying them. He admired the beauty of each but was dismayed by the paltry total. He touched his breast, knuckles whitening as he pressed against the flesh that had, moments ago, been pierced by the steely tool of his lord’s will.
The Nightmaster snorted. “Be grateful for that,” he admonished sternly. “Do you expect him to be pleased that you, who have such great power and influence, a position of command among a mighty order, should have turned but two souls toward his worship in the course of a long year?”
“I must move with care-all depends upon deceit! Even my wife does not know what-”
“Silence!” hissed the priest. The cowl of his hood flared like a cobra’s, and he leaned into the lord, his breath sour with the scent of raw onion. “Take the profits of your trade with our dark prince or turn your back on him-and know that he will shun you in return!”
“No!” gasped the worshiper, bending double, pressing his face to the floor. “I beg the forgiveness of my prince and of his chosen agent, the Nightmaster. Please-I spoke foolishly, in haste!”
“You are wise. Stubborn, but wise,” said the priest. He stepped to the scale, pulled the silk up from the table to wrap his holy icon. “Comport yourself!” he snapped. “They come for you!”
With a murmured word the Nightmaster vanished, taking his robe, the silken bundle, and the sacred scale with him. The man pushed himself to his feet, adjusting his garments. He turned to the sound of a rap on the door. “Come in!” he barked, his tone again commanding.
His aide opened the door and bowed. “My lord duke,” he said. “They are ready to begin the conference.”
Lady Selinda of Palanthas was already restless and even a little disgusted. The Duke of Caergoth had been busy for the last day, leaving her in the capable but utterly uninteresting care of Sir Marckus and the duchess. The former was a stiff and formal bore, and the latter had apparently exhausted her store of entertaining gossip at the welcoming banquet. Of course, the tour of the goblin dungeon had been diverting, but other than that she was forced to conclude that Caergoth was nearly as dull as Palanthas itself.
Then there was the matter of the other two dukes. Jarrod of Thelgaard and Rathskell of Solanthus had finally arrived in the city after dark, each entering with his entourage through a different gate, going to quarters in a different palace. They would not show themselves to each other, to their host, or to the visiting princess, until protocol had been choreographed down to the precise moment of their simultaneous entry into the conference chamber.
That moment, at last, was here. Selinda sat in a cushioned chair upon a low dais installed along one wall of Castle Caergoth’s great hall. Three hundred knights-exactly equal numbers (of course!) representing the orders of Crown, Sword, and Rose-stood at attention along the walls, and dozens of lesser nobles and ladies, dressed in finery, sat on the floor of the chamber. Trumpeters blared fanfare, and Selinda rose to her feet as doors in all three walls were opened by stewards just at the moment when the braying horns reached their crescendo.
One duke passed through each door. Each had his wife on his arm, each was trailed by exactly five retainers. That number had only been established, Selinda was informed by Lady Martha, after negotiations lasting most of the night. Proceeding with elaborate dignity, the three great lords advanced to their seats, which were equal in grandeur to Selinda’s except they were all on a slightly lower section of dais, all four chairs forming the sides of a square.
Selinda found herself intrigued, in spite of herself, by the appearance of the two tardy lords. Duke Jarrod of Thelgaard was a huge man with a shaggy black mane of hair and a full, flowing beard of the same hue. His beard was divided into two braids, parting to reveal the emblem of the Crown upon his silver breastplate. Despite his girth, there was dignity and purpose in his long strides, and the way he carried himself proved he still boasted greater than average strength. His reputation held him to be a ferocious battle leader, contemptuous of his own safety in pursuit of a foe, and from the look of barely contained fury lurking in his dark countenance the princess had no difficulty believing this. His emblem was a stark banner, a pennant of sheer black displaying the Crown sigil in purest white.
She remembered Martha’s words and wondered if the Duke of Thelgaard had been imbibing. In truth, she could see no sign of any inebriation. His wife was with him, leaning on his arm, an old crone of a woman. Her posture was stooped, as she shuffled along with his support. He was patient, walking slowly, and he showed surprising tenderness as he escorted her to a chair near his own.
Duke Rathskell of Solanthus was, in many ways, the very opposite of his rival in appearance. He was short, slender, with wiry limbs and a quick, graceful gait. His mustache was small and neat, his beard trimmed short so that it just outlined his chin and mouth. Reputedly Rathskell was a swordsman of consummate skill, and as Selinda beheld his dancer’s grace and the quick, observant flashing of his eyes, she judged that this reputation, too, was accurate. She remembered Lady Martha’s indiscreet gossip-that this duke had murdered his wife’s former husband-and she had no trouble believing that the story might be true. A courtier carried the duke’s blue banner, upon which the image of a silver sword was prominently displayed.
Rathskell’s wife didn’t so much walk as slither. She was very beautiful, with enormous breasts that swelled out the front of her tight-fitting gown. She smiled at the knights around her, then turned her adoring eyes to the face of her husband, who seemed to be suffering the proceedings with barely concealed contempt.
In contrast to these swaggering, warlike lords, Duke Crawford of Caergoth seemed casual and at ease. He was handsome and friendly and spoke congenially with members of the other dukes’ parties. He had a joke for Thelgaard that actually caused the big man to chuckle aloud, and when he greeted Solanthus he squeezed the man’s arm and leaned closer to offer a private word. Lady Martha, on his arm, glanced at Selinda and flashed a wink.
Eyeing each other, the two rival dukes arrived at their chairs at the same moment. Lady Selinda bowed to them all and took her seat. A moment later the three great nobles sat down, and the nobles, retainers, and ladies settled into their chairs. The three hundred knights and the heralds, of course, remained standing. The princess nodded to Sir Marckus, who stood behind his lord, and that worthy captain signaled to three squires. Each released a cord, and three glorious banners unfurled from the ceiling, rippling downward like silken tapestries to display the sigils of the Crown, Sword, and Rose behind their respective dukes. A moment later the fourth banner, a pure white strip of si
lk, unfurled behind Selinda, trailing down from the ceiling to the floor.
Patriarch Issel, the leading cleric in Caergoth-high priest of the church of Shinare-was going to give an invocation, Selinda recalled. He stood now and spoke of the importance of the knighthood and the vital coin of trade that their protection allowed to flow through the city. He got a little too bogged down in matters of debit and income for Selinda’s tastes, and she was grateful when at last, after five minutes, he brought his prayer to a close.
Finally, it was time for the real work of the conference to begin. The princess rose to her feet and cleared her throat.
“Your Excellencies, lords of Solamnia, nobles and ladies, good knights and worthy squires. It is my honor to welcome you all on my father’s behalf to the Council of Caergoth.”
Her father had written this speech, advising her to read it loud and clear at the start of the conference. In her two days in the city she had studied it, deleted some parts that she found too bombastic, and added a few pertinent details that her father had neglected. Then she had committed it to memory, so that she could keep her eyes trained on her listeners as she made her points.
“We may well be proud of our accomplishments in the time since the end of the War of Souls. We have removed the scourge of the Dark Knights from the lands once ruled by Vinas Solamnus. We have begun to repair the depredations wrought by the Dragon Overlords, most notably the evil of the vile Khellendros-though we must all acknowledge that this task in its entirety will last well beyond any of our lifetimes. We have begun to raise the banners of justice, to restore law and order, and pride in the Oath and Measure, throughout these hallowed realms.”
“Hear, hear!” The assent echoed around the chamber, a rumble of deep male voices.
“These gains have not been without sacrifice. One such sacrifice, more than any other, has added a bitter spice to this taste of freedom. My father bade, and my own heart requires, that I ask you all to bow your heads in silence as we do every Autumnul, in memory of the bold, the true, the noble Lord Lorimar.”
Selinda’s voice hardened, and so did her gaze. “It remains bitter medicine to us all that the assassin of Lord Lorimar still roams the lands of Solamnia-a symbol of how much work there is still to be done, restoring justice to the land. For more than three years Lorimar’s assassin has evaded capture, though the unprecedented reward of a thousand Palanthian crowns lies upon his head. It is the Lord Regent’s wish that this reward now be increased to twenty-five hundred crowns, paid from my father’s own treasury, to the knight who captures or slays the Assassin.
“In the absence of a prisoner or a dead body, the return of Lord Lorimar’s legendary sword, Giantsmiter, shall constitute proof of fulfillment. This man’s identity is well known to all of you. His name is Jaymes Markham, and he was formerly a Knight of the Rose. His treachery is all the more wicked because he was the trusted leader of Lorimar’s personal guards, the rest of whom perished in the attack. His treachery is a mystery, but he is known to prize the great sword, Giantsmiter, and as such is a marked man.”
“My Lady, if you will forgive the interruption, I may offer a tidbit of news-perhaps too trivial and tardy to warrant urgent status-but it regards that mighty blade.” The speaker was Duke Rathskell of Solanthus. The duke had risen abruptly to his feet, but now spoke respectfully, with a slight bow of his head that conveyed his apologies to the princess.
“Please-what can you tell us?” she said.
“I received word several months ago from one of my knights-Sir Percival, the captain of my scouts.” The duke indicated a large Knight of the Sword with a shock of red hair and a mustache with twin plumes flowing lower than his chin. “While patrolling in the foothills of the Garnet Range, Sir Percival had occasion to inspect the stronghold of a bandit lord, a certain Cornellus, who maintains a disreputable post up there.
“Percival learned of a recent altercation in that stronghold. A warrior wielding a great, blazing sword slew many of Cornellus’ attendants. No great loss there, of course, but the description of the sword matches Giantsmiter. Unfortunately, the story is now nearly four months old. Thus, I did not choose to disseminate it as an emergency bulletin.”
“I quite understand,” the princess said.
The duke sat back down, as the frowning princess turned the council to discussion of commerce and business concerns.
The talk started with the trading city of Garnet, the mercantile center on the plains just west of the mountain range of the same name. The free city was approximately equidistant from Solanthus and Thelgaard. Historically, it had fallen under the sway of one, than the other, of those city-states. Since the War of Souls it had been garrisoned by mixed companies of knights, dispatched by the three dukes. Though the knights guarded the city walls and gates, Garnet had successfully resisted all attempts at domination by any of the orders. Now-as both dukes apparently agreed-this was a luxury Garnet could no longer afford.
“Even the temples in Garnet are unsafe,” Patriarch Issel declared. “I have learned that the shrine of Shinare was robbed there several weeks ago and the patriarch himself was murdered.”
“I vouch for this report,” said a Knight of the Rose. Selinda recognized him as Sir Reynaud, Duke Crawford’s chief retainer, who had captured the goblin and brought it to Caergoth. “I happened to be at that temple shortly before the crime occurred.”
“It’s not just bandits. We have raiders coming down from the mountains, striking farmsteads and villages miles beyond their previous incursions!” proclaimed Duke Jarrod. “With Garnet to secure my southern flank, my troops could form a bulwark against the raiders’ inroads to the west, I can no longer afford to send a garrison to a place that provides me with no revenue.
“Bah-it is to the north that the enemy plans to strike!” objected Duke Rathskell. “That’s why Garnet is essential-essential-to the proper defense of Solanthus.”
Back and forth they went throughout a long, hot day in the great hall. Selinda had almost dozed off when she heard a commotion at the back of the large room. A messenger in the livery of the Rose knights rushed in to interrupt the debate.
“The assassin of Lord Lorimar!” the messenger gasped, to general consternation. “He has been spotted in the city! The duke’s agents have him cornered near the waterfront-he’s in the Gnome Ghetto!”
“Evil strides the streets of my city! My men will apprehend him at once!” cried Duke Crawford, leaping to his feet, shouting orders to Sir Marckus.
“Not so fast!” objected Rathskell. “This villain is the great prize of our age-let all the orders combine for the honor of bringing him to justice!
“I pledge a hundred knights!” Duke Jarrod shouted. The others swiftly followed suit, so that it was a party of three hundred veteran Solamnics, armed and armored, that presently hastened toward the Gnome Ghetto, in pursuit of the vile murderer.
Sir Mikel Horn, a veteran Knight of the Rose, had served his order in key posts for twenty years. He had guarded bands of refugees fleeing south and east to escape the depredations of the Dragon Overlord Khellendros. He had stood on the walls of Solanthus when Mina had come with her Dark Knights to sweep that ancient fortress by storm. He had led patrol after patrol against the brigands, goblins, and Dark Knight remnants that had plagued all the provinces of Solamnia since the end of the War of Souls. He helped to train the garrisons for both Solanthus and Thelgaard, earning a reputation as a man who could be trusted, a man who could think for himself, a man for whom no assignment was too difficult.
Which is why he stood here, now, on the gate-tower of the free city of Garnet, watching the last of the Solanthian knights ride away, their banners held high, their silver armor shining, amidst a fanfare of bugles. But no doubt about it, like their Crown brethren from Thelgaard, the knights of Solanthus were running away.
The goblins of the Garnet Range were on the march. All week long reports had been streaming in, describing a horde of unprecedented size-raiders who had were swee
ping through small mining towns and dairy villages, plundering and killing. As the band of marauders drew closer to Garnet, many of the people had fled onto the plains while some had stayed to defend their homes. Now Sir Mikel knew that it was too late for anyone else to leave.
“Captain Horn, here are the latest reports from the scouts,” said Dynrall Wickam, Mikel’s squire and aide. Dynrall was his most loyal retainer, or had been up until this morning, when Mikel had ordered him to depart with the men of Solanthus.
“Will you be leaving, Captain?” Dynrall had asked.
“I cannot. By the Oath and the Measure, I stay here in Garnet until we are relieved. But you, lad-you should go!” the captain had replied.
“And leave the man who has shown me the true meaning of that Oath, and that Measure?” the squire had replied. “No, my lord, the only way I leave Garnet is if I follow you out. No sir, I refuse that order. Write it down on my record. I’m staying.”
Horn had been too overcome to reply. Now he looked at the young man, one of the few steadfast warriors in the town, and all he could think of was that his own stubbornness had condemned the youngster.
“What are the reports?” he asked.
“The goblin horde has been spotted on the King’s Road in the foothills,” Dyrnall reported. “Still displaying surprisingly good march discipline. Best estimates are that they will be heading down the west ridge within a matter of hours. If they desire haste, they might be able to fall upon the city before nightfall.”
“Then we had best take up positions on the wall. What are our numbers?”
“Some hundred knights remain, sir. Perhaps three or four times that many men of the city will stand watch. All have been directed to battle posts and will hasten there upon your signal.”
“Very well. It is not so bad. It could be worse. We will acquit ourselves. Summon my bugler, and sound the alarm.”
An hour later the raiders burst into view, several thousand of them blackening the summit of the low, rounded ridge that formed the eastern horizon when viewed from the town walls. They were about a mile away, standing shoulder to shoulder in silent menace.
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