“But your studies will continue, won’t they?” She smiled. “Inevitably. The habits of eons die very hard.” Belgarath pulled his horse in beside Cyradis. “Could you be a bit more specific about what we’re supposed to be looking for when we get to Perivof?” he asked her.
“It is as I told thee at Kell, Ancient Belgarath. At Perivor thou must seek out the map that will guide thee to die Place Which Is No More.”
‘ ‘How is it that the people of Perivor know more about it than the rest of the world?” She did not reply.
“I gather that this is another one of those things you’re not going to tell me.”
“I may not at this time, Belgarath.” Beldin came soaring in. “You’d better get ready,” he said. “There’s a patrol of Darshivan soldiers just ahead.” “How many?” Garion asked quickly. “A dozen or so. They’ve got a Grolim with them. I didn’t
118
SEERESS OF KELL
want to get too close, but I think it’s White-eyes. They’re hiding in ambush in a grove of trees in the next valley.”
“How would he know we’re coming this way?” Velvet asked
in perplexity.
“Zandramas knows that we’re going to Perivor,” Polgara replied. “This is the shortest route.”
“A dozen Darshivans don’t really pose much of a threat,” Zakath said confidently. “What’s the purpose of this, then?”
“Delay,” Belgarath told him. “Zandramas wants to hold us up so that she can get to Perivor before we do. She can communicate with Naradas over long distances. We can probably expect him to set traps for us every few miles all the way to Lengha.”
Zakath scratched at his short beard, frowning in concentration. Then he opened one of his saddlebags, took out a map, and consulted it. “We’re still about fifteen leagues from Lengha,” he said. He squinted at Beldin. “How fast could you cover that distance?”
“A couple hours. Why?”
“There’s an imperial garrison there. I’ll give you a message to the garrison commander with my seal on it. He’ll move out with troops and spring those traps from behind. As soon as we join those forces, Naradas won’t be bothering us anymore.” Then he remembered something. “Holy Seeress,” he said to Cyradis, “back in Darshiva, you told me to leave my troops behind when I came to Kell. Is that prohibition still in effect?” “Nay, Kal Zakath.” “Good. I’ll write that message.”
“What about the patrol hiding just ahead?” Silk asked Gar-ion. “Or are we just going to wait here until Zakath’s troops arrive?”
“I don’t think so. What’s your feeling about a little exercise?”
Silk’s answering grin was vicious.
“There’s still a problem, though,” Velvet said. “With Beldin on his way to Lengha, we won’t have anyone to scout out any other ambushes.”
“Tell the she with yellow hair not to be concerned,” the wolf said to Garion. “One is able to move without being seen, or if one is seen, the man-things will pay no heed.”
“It’s all right, Liselle,” Garion said. “The wolf will scout for us.”
“She’s a very useful person to have along.” Velvet smiled.
PERIVOR
119
“Person?” Silk said. “Well, isn’t she?”
He frowned. “”You know, you might be right at that. She has a definite personality, doesn’t she?”
The wolf wagged her tail at him and then loped off.
“All right, gentlemen,” Garion said, loosening Iron-grip’s sword in its sheath, “let’s go pay these lurking Darshivans a visit.”
“Won’t Naradas cause some problems?” Zakath asked, handing his note to Beldin.
“I certainly hope he tries,” Garion replied.
Naradas, however, proved to no longer be among the Dar-shivan soldiers hidden in the grove of trees. The skirmish was short, since most of the ambushers seemed to be much better at running than at fighting.
“Amateurs,” Zakath said scornfully, wiping his sword blade on the cloak of one of the fallen.
“You’re getting fairly competent with that, you know?” Gar-ion complimented him.
‘ ‘The training I was given when I was young seems to be coming back,” Zakath replied modestly.
“He handles that sword almost the same way Hettar handles his saber, doesn’t he?” Silk noted, pulling one of his daggers out of a Darshivan’s chest.
“Much the same,” Garion agreed, “and Hettar got his training from Cho-Hag, the finest swordsman in Algaria.”
“Which Taur Urgas discovered the hard way,” Silk added.
“I’d have given a great deal to watch that fight,” Zakath said wistfully.
“So would I,” Garion said, “but I was busy somewhere else at the time.”
“Sneaking up on Torak?” Zakath suggested.
“I don’t think ‘sneaking’ is the right word. He knew I was coming.”
“I’ll go get the ladies and Belgarath,” Durnik said.
“Beldin spoke with me,” Belgarath told them when he rode up. “Naradas flew out of this grove before you got here. Beldin considered killing him, but he had that parchment in his talons.”
“What form did he take?” Silk asked. “Naradas, I mean?”
“A raven,” Belgarath said with distaste. “Grolims are always fond of ravens for some reason.”
Silk suddenly laughed. “Remember the time when Asharak the Murgo changed into a raven on the plain of Arendia, and
120
SEERESS OF K.ELL
Polgara called that eagle down to deal with him? U rained black feathers for almost an hour.”
“Who’s Asharak the Murgo?” Zakath asked.
“He was one of Ctuchik’s underlings,” Belgarath replied.
“Did the eagle kill him?”
“No,” Silk said. “Garion did that later.”
“With his sword?”
“No. With his hand.”
“That must have been a mighty blow. Murgos are bulky people.”
“Actually it was only a slap,” Garion said. “I set fire to him.” He hadn’t thought of Asharak in years. Surprisingly, he found that the memory no longer bothered him.
Zakath was staring at him in horror.
“He was the one who killed my parents,” Garion told him. “The action seemed appropriate. He burned them to death, so I did the same thing to him. Shall we ride on?”
The tireless she-wolf ranged out ahead of them and located two more groups of ambushers before the sun went down. The survivors of the first, failed ambush had spread the word, however, and as soon as these other two groups of Darshivans saw Garion and his companions bearing down on them, they fied in panic.
“Disappointing,” Sadi said after they had flushed out the second group. He slipped his small, poisoned dagger back into
its sheath.
“I expect that Naradas is going to speak quite firmly with those fellows when he finds out that he’s gone to all this trouble for nothing,” Silk added gaily. “He’ll probably sacrifice a goodly number of them just as soon as he can find an altar.”
They met the men of Zakath’s imperial garrison from Lengha about noon the following day. The commander of the garrison rode forward and stared at Zakath in some amazement. “Your Imperial Majesty,” he said, “is that really you?”
Zakath rubbed at his black beard, “Oh, you mean this, Colonel?” He laughed. “It was the suggestion of that old man over there.” He pointed at Belgarath. “We didn’t want people to recognize me, and my face is stamped on every coin in Mallo-rea. Did you have any trouble on your way north?”
“Nothing worth mentioning, your Majesty. We encountered a dozen or so groups of Darshivan soldiers—usually hiding in clumps of trees. We encircled each clump, and they all surrendered immediately. They’re very good at surrendering.”
PERTVOR
121
“They run quite well, too, weVe noticed.” Zakath smiled.
The colonel looked at his emperor a bit hesitantly. “I hope you won’t be offended at my saying this, your Majesty, but you seem to have changed since the last time I was in Mal Zeth.”
“Oh?”
” I Ve never seen you under arms, for one thing.”
“Troubled times, Colonel. Troubled times.”
“And if you’ll forgive my saying so, your Majesty, I Ve never heard you laugh before—or even seen you smile.”
“IVe had little reason before, Colonel. Shall we go on to Lengha?”
When they arrived in Lengha, Cyradis, with Toth’s assistance, led them directly to the harbor, where a strangely configured ship awaited them.
“Thank you, Colonel,” Zakath said to the garrison commander. “Providing this ship was most considerate of you.”
“Excuse me, your Majesty,” the colonel replied, “but I had nothing to do with the ship.”
Zakath gave loth a startled look, and the big mute smiled briefly at Dumik.
Durnik frowned slightly. “Brace yourself, Kal Zakath,” he said. “The arrangements for the ship were made several thousand years ago.”
Belgarath’s face was suddenly creased by a broad smile. “It would seem that we’re right on schedule then. I do so hate to be late for an appointment.”
“Really?” Beldin said. “I remember one time when you showed up five years after you were supposed to.”
“Something came up.”
“Something usually does. Wasn’t that during the period when you were spending your time with the girls in Maragor?”
Belgarath coughed and cast a slightly guilty look at his daughter.