3 Again, the serpent is relating its own version of the truth, which is considerably different from the story told by the Sartan, found in Serpent Mage, vol. 4 of The Death Gate Cycle. It is interesting to note, as does Haplo, in his somewhat bitter commentary on this section of Xar’s journal, that the serpents are adept at telling people exactly what they want to hear.
not before Samah had been driven by his fear of us and his fear of you, great Xar, to open Death’s Gate!
“The Sartan can no longer stop us from returning to assist you. We entered Death’s Gate and we present ourselves to you, Xar. We would call you ‘Lord.’ ” The serpent bowed.
“And what is the name of this ‘powerful’ Sartan to whom you keep referring?” Xar asked.
“He calls himself by the mensch name ‘Alfred,’ Lord.”
“Alfred!” Xar forgot himself, lost his composure. His hand beneath the black robe clenched into a fist. “Alfred!” he repeated beneath his breath. He glanced up, saw the eyes of the serpent glint red. Xar quickly regained his calm.
“Haplo was with this Alfred?”
“Yes, Lord.”
“Then Haplo will bring him to me. You need not fear. You have obviously misunderstood Haplo’s motives. He is cunning, is Haplo. Intelligent and clever. He may not be a match for Samah—if this is truly the same Samah, which I much doubt —but Haplo is more than a match for this Sartan with the mensch name. Haplo will be here shortly. You will see. And he will have Alfred with him. And then all will be explained.
“In the meantime,” Xar added, cutting short the serpent, who would have spoken, “I am very tired. I am an old man and old men need their rest. I would invite you to my house, but I have a child staying with me. A very sharp child, quite intelligent for a mensch. He would ask questions that I would prefer not to answer. Keep hidden in the forest. Avoid going around my people, for they will react to you as I have.” The Lord of the Nexus held forth his hand, exhibited the runes that glowed a vibrant blue. “And they might not be as patient as I have been.”
“I am honored by your concern, my lord. I will do as you command.”
The serpent bowed again. Xar turned to take his leave. The serpent’s words followed him.
“I hope mat this Haplo, in whom my lord has placed such faith, will be found worthy of it.” But I most sincerely doubt it!
Unspoken words whispered from the twilight shadows. Xar heard them plainly, or perhaps he was the one who gave them utterance in thought, if not aloud. He glanced back over his shoulder, irritated at the serpent, but the serpent was gone. It had apparently slunk into the woods without a sound, without the rustle of a leaf, the cracking of a twig. Xar was further irritated, then angered at himself for having let the serpent upset him.
“A lack of confidence in Haplo is a lack of confidence in myself. I saved his life. I brought him out of the Labyrinth. I raised him up, trained him, assigned him this most important task, to travel Death’s Gate. When he first had doubts, I chastised him, cleansed him of the poison inflicted by the Sartan, Alfred. Haplo is dear to me. To discover that he has failed me is to discover that I have failed!”
The glow of the sigla on Xar’s skin was beginning to fade, though it still gleamed brightly enough to light the lord’s path through the fringes of the forest. He irritably forbore the temptation to look backward again.
He didn’t trust the serpent, but then he trusted very few. He would have liked to have said “none.” He trusted no one. But that would have been wrong.
Feeling older and wearier than usual, the lord spoke the runes and summoned out of the magical possibilities an oaken staff, strong and sturdy, to aid his tired steps.
“My son,” he whispered sadly, leaning heavily on the staff. “Haplo, my son!”
CHAPTER 4
DEATH’S GATE