Shards of a Broken Crown

by Raymond E. Feist

  “I’ll make this simple. This armband doesn’t give you the right to bully, to settle old grudges, or to annoy the women in the town. Any man here who is convicted of assault, rape, or theft while wearing this will be hanged. Is that clear?”

  The men were silent a moment, and a few nodded they understood. “Is that clear?” Dash repeated, and the men were more vocal in acknowledging the question.

  “Now, until we can recruit a full-blown City Watch, the routine will be a half-day on, then a half-day off. One day in five, you’ll work round the clock while the other half will get the day to themselves. If you know any men of arms-bearing age who can be recruited and can be trusted, send them to see me.”

  Using a chopping motion, he split the forty men in the room in half. “You,” he said to the men on his right, “are the day watch. You,” he said to the men on his left, “are the night watch. Get me another twenty good men and we’ll go to three watches.”

  The men nodded.

  Dash said, “Now, headquarters will be here in the palace until we can get the city courts and jail rebuilt.

  The prison here is the only one we have. We don’t have a lot of room, so I don’t want it filled with drunks and brawlers. If you have to break up a fight, send them home with a kick in the butt, but if you have to bring them in, don’t be shy. I’ll assume that 52893_~1.QXD 8/30/2002 10:02 AM Page 341

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  if someone is stupid enough to not take a chance to get off with a warning, they need to talk to a judge.

  “We’re going to lift curfew at the Old Town Market; people are using it to trade now as the rest of the city rebuilds, and it’s starting to be a trouble spot, but if we’re going to have trouble, I want it in one place, not all over the city. So, pass the word, the market is open from sunset to midnight now. The rest of the city is still under curfew unless the person is on their way home from the market. And they better have the goods or gold to show they’ve been trading.

  “Anyone causes you trouble, deal with it. We don’t have enough swords to get you out of trouble if you get in over your head.” He looked around the room at the faces of the men he now commanded and said, “If you’re killed, I promise we’ll avenge you.”

  One of the men said, “That’s comforting,” and the others laughed.

  “I’ll lead the first of you down to the market. You lot on the night shift, turn in. You’re going to patrol the entire city, and if you see anyone outside the market after dark, bring them in for questioning.

  “For today, anyone asks, you tell them you’re the Prince’s Law. Let’s get the word out that order is returning to Krondor. Now, let’s go.”

  The twenty men on the day shift rose and followed Dash outside the room. He moved through the large courtyard of the palace to the newly restored drawbridge over the still-dry moat. Some of the water system was still under repair and the palace wouldn’t be isolated from the city by the moat again for a few more weeks. As they crossed the drawbridge, Dash said, “If no one causes any trouble and forces you to haul them back to the jail, I want you 52893_~1.QXD 8/30/2002 10:02 AM Page 342

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  to keep moving. I want you everyplace you can reasonably reach. I want the citizens seeing lots of those red armbands . . . let them think we’ve got a dozen men for each one of you. If anyone asks, you don’t know how many watchmen there are, just lots of them.”

  The men nodded, and as they walked toward the market square, Dash began splitting off pairs of constables and sending them along different routes, directing their activities for the first day of his new responsibility. More than once he silently cursed Patrick for his choice.

  Dash was down to four men when he reached the market square of Krondor. Shortly after the original keep of the castle had been built, when the first Prince of Krondor had declared this city the capital of the Western Realm of the Kingdom of the Isles, the traders and local fishermen and farmers who lived in the region began regularly gathering in this market to trade, barter, and sell their wares. Over the years the city had grown, developed, and evolved to the point where the vast majority of trade was conducted by businessmen in all quarters of the city, but the ancient market square endured, and it was the first place for the reviving city to find its financial soul. It was thronging with men and women of all stations: merchants, nobles, fishermen, farmers, traders, peddlers, whores, beggars, thieves, and vagabonds.

  Several people cast a wary eye at the five men, for while there were swordsmen here or there, the majority of soldiers had departed the city with Duko heading south, or with the Armies of the West, heading north. Only the Prince’s Royal Household Guard 52893_~1.QXD 8/30/2002 10:02 AM Page 343

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  remained, and they remained in the palace.

  A short distance from where they had entered, Dash spied a familiar face. Luis de Savona was unloading a wagon, helped by a woman who turned out, to a surprised Dash, to be Roo Avery’s wife Karli. Dash turned to his men and said, “Start wandering through the crowd, but unless you see a murder in progress, just keep looking.”

  The men spread out, and Dash crossed to where Luis and Karli were unloading the wagon. A local trader was watching closely as Luis handed down boxes of freight to the trader’s boy.

  Dash said, “Mrs. Avery! Luis! How are you?”

  Luis looked over and smiled. “Dash! It’s good to see you.”

  “When did you arrive in Krondor?”

  “Very early this morning,” replied Luis.

  They shook hands, and Karli said, “I was very sorry to hear about your father. I still remember the day I first met him, at our house.” She glanced over in the general direction of where their townhouse had once stood, across the street from Barret’s Coffee House, now a burned-out husk of a building.

  “He was very kind, to Roo and me.”

  Dash said, “Thank you. It’s very difficult, but . . .

  well, you’ve lost your father, so you know.”

  She nodded.

  Luis fingered the armband and said, “What is this?”

  “I’m the new Sheriff of Krondor, and it falls to me to uphold the Prince’s peace in the city.”

  Luis smiled. “You’d be better off coming back to work for Roo. You’d lose your noble office, but you’d make a great deal more money with far less 52893_~1.QXD 8/30/2002 10:02 AM Page 344

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  work.”

  Dash laughed. “Probably you’re right, but as it is, we’re very short-handed and Prince Patrick needs all of us pulling our weight.” He glanced at the freight.

  “Goods from Darkmoor?”

  “No,” said Luis. “We unloaded our cargo from Darkmoor when we got in early this morning. These are from the Far Coast, actually. The ships still can’t get into the harbor, but they’re anchoring off of Fishtown and we’re ferrying the goods ashore with fishing boats.”

  Karli asked, “How is your brother?”

  “He’s fine; he’s running an errand for Patrick. He should be halfway to Port Vykor about now.”

  Luis finished unloading the cargo, and said,

  “Give us a minute, then I’ll buy us an ale.”

  “That would be welcome, Luis.”

  Karli counted out the gold the merchant gave him, under the watchful eye of the merchant’s body-guard, and then said, “Luis, we can’t get young Dash drunk, so maybe we should get him to share a bite.”

  She looked at Dash. “Hungry?”

  Dash said, “Actually, I am.”

  They walked across the market to an open-air kitchen, where hot meat pies were being sold. Karli purchased three, then they moved to an ale wagon, where Luis got three jacks of cold brew for them.

  Like most of those eating in the market, they stood and made do with keeping out of the way of those walking through the aisle.

  Luis said, “
I was only partly joking; I could use someone of your talents. Things are beginning to turn around and men of talent are going to get rich.”

  He motioned with his bad hand while juggling the 52893_~1.QXD 8/30/2002 10:02 AM Page 345

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  hot pie with his good one. “Since Helen and I married, Roo has made me manager of all Avery and Jacoby business while he’s gone.”

  Karli said, “It’s Avery and de Savona, now. Helen insisted.”

  Luis smiled slightly. “It wasn’t my idea.” He put down the pie and picked up the pewter jack of ale.

  After he took a drink, he said, “I’m so busy I don’t know what I need to do next. The wagon builders in Darkmoor are getting our freight business back to where it was before the destruction of the city, and the orders for cargo are starting to come in.”

  “What about the other businesses that Roo held?”

  Luis shrugged. “I’m in charge of the Avery and de Savon business. Most of the other was Bitter Sea Company. Roo hasn’t said much. I get the feeling most of that is gone with the destruction of the city.

  I know he had some holdings in the East, but I think he’s borrowed a great deal to get this enterprise underway. I know much about his business, but there is more that I don’t know.” He looked at Karli.

  “Roo has told me most everything about his business interests,” said Karli. “Except some things to do with the crown. I think the Kingdom owes Roo a large debt.”

  “No doubt,” said Dash. “My grandfather got several very sizable loans from the Bitter Sea Company.” Dash looked around. “While I suspect they will eventually be paid, as you can see, the Kingdom has a great deal to repair here before debts are settled.” He finished his pie. With a long pull he drained the jack of ale, and said, “I thank you for the meal—”

  Before he could say more, a shout from the next 52893_~1.QXD 8/30/2002 10:02 AM Page 346

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  aisle caused him to turn. “Thief!”

  Dash was off, hurrying toward the source of the disturbance. He rounded a corner and saw a man running right at him, looking over his shoulder to see who was behind. Dash braced himself, and as the man turned to look ahead, Dash struck him hard across the chest with an extended arm. As Dash expected, the man’s feet went right out from under him and he fell hard upon the ground.

  Dash knelt, his sword across the man’s throat before he could regain his wits, and said, “In a hurry?”

  The man started to move, but at the gentle pressure of the blade against his neck he relaxed. “Not anymore,” he said with a grimace.

  Two of Dash’s constables appeared, and Dash said, “Take him to the palace.”

  Dash stood as they hoisted the thief to his feet and took him away. Dash moved to where Luis and Karli were finishing their meal, and said, “I’m going to borrow your wagon a moment.” He moved to where the Avery and de Savona wagon was tied and mounted it. He stood up on the driver’s seat and shouted,

  “My name is Dashel Jameson! I am the new Sheriff of Krondor! The men you see wearing red armbands like mine are my constables. Pass the word that the law is returning to Krondor!”

  Several merchants gave a weak cheer, but the majority of those gathered in the quarter seemed indifferent or openly contemptuous. Dash returned to where Karli and Luis stood. “Well, I think that went rather well, don’t you?”

  Karli laughed, and Luis said, “There are many here in the square who would just as soon not see 52893_~1.QXD 8/30/2002 10:02 AM Page 347

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  any return of law to the city.”

  Dash said, “And I think I just spotted another of them. Excuse me,” he said, darting into the crowd after a youngster he saw stealing a trinket from a distracted merchant.

  Karli and Luis watched him until after he vanished into the press, and Karli said, “I always liked that young man.”

  Luis said, “There’s a great deal of his grandfather in him. He’s a charming rogue.”

  Karli said, “Don’t call him that. He has far too deep a sense of duty to be a rogue.”

  Luis said, “I stand corrected. You are, of course, right.”

  Karli laughed. “Helen has you trained well, doesn’t she?”

  Luis laughed in return. “It was easy. I would never wish to make her unhappy.”

  “Scant chance of that,” said Karli. “Well, we have another load waiting at the docks. Let’s go get it.”

  As Luis mounted the wagon, Karli put her hand on her lower back and stretched. “I won’t be doing this much longer. I hope Roo finished up his business to the north and gets back soon.”

  Luis nodded agreement as she climbed the wagon, then he flicked the reins, getting the horses headed toward the harbor.

  Lord Vasarius glanced to his left and said, “Have you come to mock me, Avery?”

  “Not in the least, my Lord Vasarius. I came out to enjoy the night air, as did you.”

  The defeated Quegan noble looked at his former business associate and current enemy. “Your Captain 52893_~1.QXD 8/30/2002 10:02 AM Page 348

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  has been almost gracious in allowing me some liberty from that cabin.”

  “As is befitting your rank. Had our positions been reversed, I suspect I would be belowdecks on a Quegan ship, pulling against an oar.”

  “As is befitting your rank,” replied Vasarius.

  Roo laughed. “You haven’t entirely lost your sense of humor, I see.”

  “I wasn’t joking,” Vasarius answered flatly.

  Roo’s smile faded. “Well, as fate would have it, you will enjoy a far less dire fate than I would have, it seems.”

  “I would have had you killed,” said Vasarius.

  “No doubt.” Roo was silent a moment, then said,

  “My Prince is almost certain to return you to Queg by the first Free Cities ship heading there, as he has no desire to further antagonize your Emperor. It seems to me we have this opportunity to reach an accommodation.”

  Vasarius turned to face Roo. “Accommodation?

  To what purpose? You’ve won. I am close to ruin.

  My last copper piece was tied up in those ships and the cargo we sold to Fadawah. It’s now at the bottom of the sea, and I can’t see how you can be of any help to me, considering you were the one who sank my treasure!”

  Roo shrugged. “Strictly speaking, you sank the treasure. I was merely trying to steal it.

  “In any event, that wealth was stripped from the citizens of the Kingdom, and perhaps some from those living across the sea. I can’t feel much sympathy for you losing that fortune, if you can see my point.”

  “Barely. But it’s entirely academic, now, isn’t it?”

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  “Not necessarily,” said Roo.

  “If you’re proposing something, propose.”

  “I had nothing to do with your greed, Vasarius. If you had been anything near cautious, you wouldn’t have dispatched your entire fleet to the Straits of Darkness on the strength of a rumor.”

  Vasarius laughed. “Of course, it was a rumor you spread.”

  “Of course,” said Roo, “but any decent investigation might have made you reconsider the plan.”

  “Your Lord James was far too clever, by half. I’m sure, had I checked, I would have found more rumors to support the story of a vast treasure fleet coming from across the Endless Sea.”

  Roo said, “There is that. James had the most facile mind I’ve ever encountered. But that’s not the point. The point is you have something to gain as do I, and we need to agree to that before we reach Krondor.”

  “What is that?”

  “The price of my life.”

  Vasarius studied Roo for a long moment, then said, “Say on.”

  �
�I was taking that treasure ship of yours to Krondor. I would have sent the ship back to you, for I would not be counted a pirate, but the gold was taken from the Kingdom and was to be returned to the Kingdom.” He smiled. “As it happens, the crown is in debt to me, considerable debt, and I suspect I would have accounted much of that treasure to that debt, so in a sense, it was more my treasure than yours.”

  Vasarius said, “Avery, your logic astonishes me.”

  “Thank you.”

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  “It wasn’t a compliment. Besides, the treasure resides below a great deal of ocean at the moment.”

  “Ah, but I know how to get it,” said Roo.

  Vasarius’s eyes narrowed. He said, “And you need me to get it?”

  “No, actually, I don’t need you at all. In fact, unless you have access to certain magicians, you’re of no use to me. I can locate members of the Wreckers Guild of Krondor. They’re actively clearing the harbor right now, but the Prince will let me borrow some for a small commission.”

  “So then, why tell me this?”

  “Because here’s my offer. I will take what I raise from the ocean’s floor. I will need to give one part in ten to the crown for interrupting their clearing of the harbor. And I will be forced to account the rest toward the debt of the crown, I am certain. And I will have to pay the guild’s fee. But I am willing to divide what remains equally, and ship that half to Queg.”

  “In exchange for what?”

  “For you not engaging the services of a highly trained assassin as soon as you return to Queg.”

  “That is all?”

  “More, a vow that you will never attempt to harm me or my family, nor will you idly allow anyone over whom you have influence in Queg to trouble us.”

  Vasarius was silent for a very long time, and Roo resisted the impulse to speak.

  Finally the Quegan noble said, “If you can do this and account to me half the money you raise less the Prince’s cut and the guild’s fee, then I will agree to seek no further reprisals against you or your family.”

  The night air was cooling, and Roo hugged himself. “That takes a great load off my mind.”