Polgara raised one eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
The ship was manned by the same sort of mute crew as had conveyed them from the coast of Gorut in Cthol Murgos to the Isle of Verkat. Once again Garion was struck by that haunting sense of repetition. As soon as they were on board, the crew cast off all lines and made sail.
“Peculiar,” Silk observed. “The breeze is coming in off the sea, and we’re sailing directly into it.”
“I noticed that,” Durnik agreed.
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“I thought you might have. It appears that normal rules don’t apply to the Dais.”
“Wilt thou, Belgarion, and thy friend Zakath accompany me to the aft cabin?” Cyradis said as they cleared the harbor.
“Of course, Holy Seeress,” Garion replied. He noticed that as the three of them moved aft, Zakath took the blindfolded gill’s hand to lead her, almost unconsciously duplicating loth’s solicitude. A peculiar notion crossed the mind of the Rivan King at that point. He looked rather closely at his friend. Zakath’s face was strangely gentle, and his eyes had an odd look in them. The notion was absurd, of course, but as clearly as if he had seen directly into the Mallorean Emperor’s heart, Garion knew that it was absolutely true. He rather carefully concealed a smile.
In the aft cabin stood two gleaming suits of armor, looking for all the world like those of the knights at Vo Mimbre.
“These must garb you at Perivor,” Cyradis told them.
“There’s a reason, I assume,” Garion said.
“Indeed. And when we approach that coast, thou must each lower thy visor and under no circumstances raise it whilst we are on that isle unless I give thee leave.”
‘ ‘And you’re not going to tell us what the reason is, are you?”
She smiled gently and laid one hand on his arm. “Know only that it is needful.”
“I sort of thought she might take that position,” Garion said to Zakath. He went to the door of the cabin. “Dumik,” he called, “we’re going to need some help down here.”
“We don’t have to put it on yet, do we?” Zakath asked him.
“Have you ever worn full armor before?”
“No. I can’t say that I have.”
“It takes a bit of getting used to. Even Mandorallen grunted a bit when he first put his on.”
“Mandorallen? That Mimbrate friend of yours?”
Garion nodded. “He’s Ce’Nedra’s champion.”
“I thought you were.”
“I’m her husband. Different rules apply.” He looked critically at Zakath’s sword, a rather light and slim-bladed weapon. “He’s going to need a bigger sword, Cyradis,” he told the Seer-ess.
“In that cabinet, Belgarion.”
“She thinks of everything,” Garion said wryly. He opened the cabinet. Inside, standing almost to shoulder height, was a massive broadsword. He lifted it out with both hands. “Your sword, your Majesty,” he said, extending the hilt to Zakath.
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“Thank you, your Majesty.” Zakath grinned. As he took me sword, his eyes suddenly went wide. “Torak’s teeth!” he swore, almost dropping the huge weapon. “Do people actually use these things on each other?”
“Frequently. It’s a major form of entertainment in Arendia. If you think that one’s heavy, you should try mine.” Then Gar-ion remembered something. “Wake up,” he said rather peremptorily to the Orb.
The murmur of the stone was slightly offended.
“Don’t overdo this,” Garion instructed, “but my friend^s sword is just a bit heavy for him. Let’s make it lighter—a little at a time.” He watched as Zakath strained to raise the sword. “A little more,” he instructed the Orb.
The sword point came up—slowly.
“How’s that?” Garion asked.
“A bit more, maybe,” Zakath grunted.
“Do it,” Garion said to the Orb.
“That’s better—” Zakath sighed “—but is it really safe to talk to that stone that way? *’
“You have to be firm. It’s like a dog or a horse sometimes— or even a woman.”
“I will not forget thy remark, King Belgarion,” Cyradis said in a crisp tone.
He grinned at her. “I didn’t expect you to, Holy Seeress,” he said mildly.
“One for your side,” Zakath said.
“You see how useful that is?” Garion laughed. “I’ll make an Alom of you yet.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The ship continued to move against the wind, and when they were perhaps three leagues out from the harbor, the albatross appeared, ghosting along on motionless, seraphlike wings. It made one solitary cry, and Polgara inclined her head in response. Then it took a position just in advance of the bowsprit as if it were leading the vessel.
“Isn’t that peculiar?” Velvet said. “It’s just like the one we saw on the way to the Isle of Verkat. *’
“No, dear,” Polgara told her. “He’s the same one.”
“That’s impossible, Lady Polgara. That was half a world away.”
“Distance has no meaning to a bird with wings like that.”
“What’s he doing here?”
“He has a task of his own.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
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“He did not choose to tell me, and it would have been impolite of me to ask.’ *
Zakath had been walking up and down the deck trying to set his armor into place. “This always looks so splendid, but it’s really very uncomfortable, isn’t it?”
‘ ‘Not nearly as uncomfortable as not having it on when you really need it,” Garion told him.
“You get used to it in time, though, don’t you?”
“Not appreciably, no.”
Although it was some distance to the island of Perivor, the strange ship with its silent crew made good time and landed them on a wooded coast about noon the following day.
“To be perfectly honest with you,” Silk said to Garion as they unloaded the horses, “I’m just as happy to be off that vessel. A ship that sails against the wind and sailors who don’t swear make me nervous somehow.”
* “There are a great many things about this entire business that are making me nervous,” Garion replied.
“The only difference is that I’m just an ordinary man. You’re a hero.”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“Heroes aren’t allowed to be nervous.”
“Who made up that rule?”
“It’s a known tact. What happened to that albatross?”
“He flew off as soon as we came in sight of land.” Garion put his visor down.
“I don’t care what Polgara says about them,” Silk said with a shudder. “IVe known a lot of sailors, and IVe never heard one of them with anything good to say about those birds.”
“Sailors are superstitious.”
“Garion, mere’s some basis in fact for all superstitions.” The little man squinted at the dark woods lining the upper end of the beach. “Not a very inviting coast, is it? I wonder why the ship didn’t put us down in some seaport?”
“I don’t think anybody really knows why the Dais do anything.”
After the horses had been unloaded from the ship, Garion and the others mounted and rode up the beach into the woods. “I think I’d better cut you and Zakath some lances,” Durnik said to Garion. “Cyradis had some reason for putting you two in armor, and I’ve noticed that an armored man usually looks a little undressed without a lance.” He dismounted, took his axe, and went back among the trees. He returned a tew moments
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later with two stout poles. “I’ll put points on them when we stop for the evening,” he promised.
“This is going to be awkward,” Zakath said, fumbling with his lance and shield.
“You do it like this,” Garion said, demonstrating. “Buckle the shield on your left arm and hold the reins in your left hand. Then set the butt of the lance in the stirrup beside your right foot and hold it in place with your free hand.”
“Have you ever fought with a lance?”
“A few times, yes. It’s fairly effective against another man wearing armor. Once you knock him off his horse, it takes him quite awhile to get back on his feet again.”
Beldin, as usual, had been scouting ahead. He came drifting back, ghosting among the trees on almost motionless wings. “You’re not going to believe this,” he said to Belgarath after he had changed back into his own form.
“What’s that?”
“There’s a castle up ahead.”
“A what?”
* ‘A large building. They usually have walls, moats, and drawbridges.”
“I know what a castle is, Beldin.”
‘ ‘Why did you ask then? Anyway, the one ahead looks almost as if it had been transplanted directly from Arendia.”
“Do you suppose you could clarify this for us, Gyradis?” Belgarath asked the Seeress.
“It is really no mystery, Ancient Belgarath,” she replied. “Some two thousand years ago, a group of adventurers from the west were shipwrecked on the coast of this island. Seeing that there was no way to make their ship whole again, they settled here and took wives from among the local populace. They have retained the customs and manners and even the speech of their homeland.”