know, but I want to be sure they’re getting the point.’ Kring came along
the parapet rubbing his hand over his scarred head. ‘I need a shave,’ he
said absently, ‘and Mirtai’s too busy to attend to it.’
‘is that a Peloi custom, Domi?’ Sparhawk asked. ‘is it one of the duties
of a Peloi woman to shave her man’s head?’
‘No, actually it’s Mirtai’s personal idea. It’s hard to see the back of
your own head, and I used to miss a few places. Shortly after we were
betrothed, she took my razor away from me and told me that from now on, she
was going to do the shaving. She does a very nice job, really – when she
isn’t too busy.’ He squared his shoulders. ‘They absolutely refused,
Sparhawk,’ he reported. ‘I knew they would, but I put the matter before
them the way you asked. They won’t be locked up inside your fort during the
battle. If you stop and think about it, though, we’ll be much more useful
ranging around the grounds on horseback anyway. A few score mounted Peloi
will stir that mob around like a kettle-full of boiling soup. If you want
confusion out there tomorrow night, we’ll give you lots of confusion. A man
who’s worried about getting a sabre across the back of the head isn’t going
to be able to concentrate on attacking a fort.’
‘Particularly when his weapon doesn’t work,’ Khalad added. Sparhawk
grunted. ‘Of course we’re assuming that the warehouse full’of crossbows
Caalador found was the only one,’ he added. ‘i’m afraid we won’t find that
out until tomorrow night,’ Khalad conceded. ‘I disabled about six hundred
of those things. If twelve hundred crossbowmen come into the palace grounds
we’ll know that half of their weapons are going to work. We’ll have to take
cover at that point. You there!’ he shouted suddenly, looking upward.
‘Drape that bunting! Don’t stretch it tight that way.’ He shook his fist at
the workman leaning Precariously out of a window high up in one of the
towers.
Although he was obviously quite young, the scholar Bevier escorted into
Ehlana’s presence was almost totally bald. He was very nervous, but his
eyes had that burning glaze to them that announced him to be a fanatic. He
prostrated himself before Ehlana’s thronelike chair and banged his forehead
on the floor. ‘Don’t do that, man,’ Ulath rumbled at him. ‘It offends the
queen. Besides, you’ll crack the floor tiles.’ The scholar scrambled to his
feet, his eyes fearful. ‘This is Emuda,’ Bevier introduced him. ‘He’s the
scholar I told you about – the one with the interesting theory about Scarpa
of Arjuna.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Ehlana said in Tamul. ‘Welcome, Master Emuda. Sir Bevier has
spoken highly of you.’ Actually, Bevier had not, but a queen is allowed to
take certain liberties with the truth. Emuda gave her a fawning sort of
look. Sparhawk moved in quickly to cut off a lengthy, rambling preamble.
‘Correct me if I’m wrong about this, Master Emuda,’ he said, but our
understanding of your theory is that you think that Scarpa’s behind all
these disturbances in Tamuli.’ That’s a slight over-simplification, Sir ?’
Emuda looked inquiringly at the tall Pandion Knight: ‘Sparhawk,’ Ulath
supplied. Emuda’s face went white, and he began to tremble violently. ‘I’m
a simple sort of man, neighbour,’ Sparhawk told him. ‘Please don’t confuse
me with complications. What sort of evidence do you have that lays
everything at Scarpa’s door?’
‘It’s quite involved, Sir Sparhawk,’ Emuda apologised. ‘Un-involve it.
Summarise, man. I’m busy.’ Emuda swallowed very hard. ‘Well, uh -‘ he
faltered. ‘We know – that is, we’re fairly certain – that Scarpa was the
first of the spokesmen for these so-called ‘heroes from the past.”
‘Why do you say ‘so-called’, Master Emuda?’ Tynian asked him. Sir Tynian
still had his right arm in a sling. ‘isn’t it obvious, Sir Knight?’ Emuda’s
tone was just slightly condescending. ‘The notion of resurrecting the dead
is an absurdity. It’s all quite obviously a hoax. Some henchman is dressed
in ancient clothing, appears in a flash of light – which any country-fair
charlatan can contrive – and then starts babbling gibberish, which the
‘spokesman’ identifies as an ancient language. Yes, it’s clearly a hoax.’
‘How clever of you to have unmasked it,’ Sephrenia murmured. we all thought
it was magic of some kind.’
‘There’s no such thing as magic, madame.’
‘Really?’ she replied mildly. ‘What an amazing thing.’
‘i’d stake my reputation on that.’
‘How courageous of you.’
‘You say that Scarpa was the first of these revolutionaries to appear?’
Vanion asked him. ‘By more than a year, Sir Knight. The first reports of
his activities began to appear in diplomatic dispatches from the capital at
Arjuna just over four years ago. The next to emerge was Baron Parok of
Daconia, and I have a swarn statement from a ship-captain that Scarpa
sailed from Kaftal in southwestern Arjuna to ALar in Daconia. ALar is Baron
Parok’s home, and he began his activities about three years ago. The
connection is obvious.’
‘It would seem so, wouldn’t it?’ Sparhawk mused. ‘From ALar I have
documented evidence of the travels of the two. Parok went into Edam, where
he actually stayed in the home town of Rebal – that connection gave me a
bit of trouble, since Rebal isn’t using his real name. We’ve identified his
home district, though, and the town Parok visited is the district capital.
I think I’m safe in assuming that a meeting took’ place during Parok’s
visit. While Parok was in Edam, Scarpa travelled all the way up into Astel.
I can’t exactly pinpoint his travels there, but I know he moved around
quite a bit just to the north of the marches on the Edomish-Astellian
border, and that’s the region where Sabre makes his headquarters. The
disturbances in Edam and Astel began some time after Scarpa and Parok had
journeyed into those kingdoms. The evidence of connection between the four
men is all very conclusive.’
‘What about these reports of supernatural events?’ Tynian asked. ‘More
hoaxes, Sir Knight.’ Emuda’s expression was offensively superior. ‘Pure
charlatanism. You may have noticed that they always occur out in the
countryside where the only witnesses are superstitious peasants and
ignorant serfs. Civilised people would not be fooled by such obvious
trickery.’
‘I wondered about that,’ Sparhawk said. ‘Are you sure about this timetable
of yours? Scarpa was the first to start stirring things up?’
‘Definitely, Sir Sparhawk.’ Then he contacted the others and enlisted
them? Perhaps a year and a half later?’ Emuda nodded. ‘Where did he go when
he left Astel after recruiting Sabre?’ I’ve lost track of him for a time
there, Sir Sparhawk. He went into the Elene Kingdoms of Western Tamuli
about two and a half years ago and didn’t return to Arjuna until eight or
ten months later. I have no idea of where he was during that interim. Oh,
one other thing. The so-called vampires began to appear in Arjuna at almost
precisely the same time that Scarpa began telling the Arjuni that he’d been
in contact with Sheguan, their national hero. The traditional monsters of
the other kingdoms also put in their appearance at the same time these
other revolutionaries began their campaigns. Believe me, your Majesty,’ he
said earnestly to Ehlana, if you’re looking for a ringleader, Scarpa’s your
man.’
‘We thank you for this information, Master Emuda, she said sweetly. ‘Would
you please provide Sir Bevier with your supporting data and describe your
findings to him in greater detail? Pressing affarrs necessarily limit the
time we can spend with you, fascinating though we find your conclusions.’
‘I shall be happy to share the entire body of my research with Sir Bevier,
your Majesty.’ Bevier rolled his eyes ceilingward and sighed. They watched
the enthusiast lead poor Bevier from the room. ‘i’d hate to have to take
that case into any court – civil or ecclesiastical,’ Emban snorted. ‘It is
a bit thin, isn’t it?’ Stragen agreed. ‘The only thing that makes me pay
any attention to him at all is that timetable of his,’ Sparhawk said.
‘Dolmant sent me to Lamorkand late last winter to look into the activities
of Count Gerich. While I was there, I heard all the wild stories about
Drychnath. It seems that our prehistoric Lamork started making appearances
at a time that coincides almost exactly with the period when our scholarly
friend lost track of Scarpa. Emuda’s such a complete ass that I sort of
hate to admit it, but he may just have hit upon the right answer.’
‘But it’s for all the wrong reasons, Sparhawk,’ Emban objected. ‘i’m only
interested in his answers, your Grace,’ Spar hawk replied. ‘As long as
they’re the right answers I don’t care how he got them. ‘
‘It’s just too risky to do it any earlier, Sparhawk,’ Stragen said later
that day. ‘You two are taking a lot of chances,’ Sparhawk objected. ‘It’s a