‘I’ve never understood why people would want to boil a Perfectly good ham,’ Sir Bevier noted with some distaste.
‘Lamorks over-salt their hams when they cure them,’
Kalten explained. “You have to boil a Lamork ham for quite a while before it’s edible. They’re a strange people.
They try to make everything an act of courage – even eating.’
‘Shall we go for a walk, Sparhawk?’ Kurik suggested to his lord after they had eaten.
“I think I’ve had just about enough exercise for one day.’
‘You did want to know which way Martel went, didn’t you?’
‘That’s true, isn’t it? All right, Kurik. Let’s go nose around a bit.’
When they reached the street, Sparhawk looked around.
“This is likely to take us half the night,’ he said.
‘Hardly,’ Kurik disagreed. ‘We’ll go to the east gate first, and if we don’t find out anything there, we’ll try the north one.
‘We just start asking people in the street?’
Kurik sighed. ‘Use your head, Sparhawk. When people are on a journey, they usually start out first thing in the morning – about the same time that other people are going to work. A lot of workmen drink their breakfasts and so the taverns are usually open. When a tavern keeper’s waiting for the first customer of the day, he watches the street fairly closely. Believe me, Sparhawk, if Martel left Kadach in the last three days, at least half a dozen tavern keepers saw him.
“You’re an extraordinarily clever fellow, Kurik.’
‘Somebody in this party has to be, My Lord. As a group knights don’t spend a great deal of their time thinking.’
‘Your class prejudices are showing, Kurik.’
‘We all have these little flaws, I guess.’
The streets of Kadach were very nearly deserted, and the few citizens abroad hurried along with their cloaks whipping around their ankles in the stiff wind. The torches set In the walls at intersections flared and streamed as the wind tore at them, casting wavering shadows that danced on the cobblestones of the streets.
The keeper of the first tavern they tried appeared to be his own best customer, and he had absolutely no idea of what time of day he normally opened his doors for business – or even what time of day it was now. The second tavern keeper was an unfriendly sort who spoke only in grunts.
The third, however, proved to be a garulous old fellow with a great fondness for conversation. ‘Well, now,’ he said, scratching at his head. “Lessee iff’n I kin call it t mind. The last three days, y’ say?’
‘About that, yes,’ Kurik told him. ‘Our friend said he’d meet us here, but we got delayed, and it looks as If he went on without us.’
‘Kin ye describe him agin?’
“Fairly large man. He might have been wearing armour, but I couldn’t swear to that. If his head was uncovered, you’d have noticed him. He’s got white hair.’
‘Can’t seem t’ recollect nobody like that. Might could be he went out one t’ other gates.’
‘That’s possible, I suppose, but we’re fairly sure he was going east. Maybe he left town before you opened for business. ‘
“Now that’s hardly likely. I opens ‘at door there when the watch opens the gate. Some of the fellers as works here in town lives on farms out yonder, an’ I usually gets some fairly brisk trade of a mornin’. Would yer friend a-bin travellin’ alone?’
“No,’ Kurik replied. ‘He had a Churchman with him, and a lady of aristocratic background. There’d also have been a slack-jawed young fellow who looks about as stupid as a stump, and a big, burly man with a face like a gorilla.’
‘Oh, ‘that bunch. You shoulda tole me ‘bout ape-face right off. They rode thoo here ‘bout daylight yestiddy mornin’.
‘At ‘ere gorilla ye was talkin’ about, he clumb down off’n his horse an’ he come in here bellerin’ fer ale. He do n’t talk none too good, does he?’
‘It usually takes him about half a day to think up an answer when somebody says hello to him.’
The tavern keeper cackled shrilly. “‘At’s him, all right.
He don’t smell none too sweet neither, does he?’
Kurik grinned at him and spun a coin across the counter to him. ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ he said. ‘He isn’t too much worse than an open cesspool. Thank you for the information, my friend.’
‘Y’ think ye’U be able t’ ketch up with ‘em?’
.Oh, we’ll catch them all right,’ Kurik replied fervently, ‘sooner or later. Were there any others with them?’
‘No. Jist ‘em five. ‘Ceptin’ fer the gorilla, they all had ther cloaks pulled up ‘round ther heads. ‘At’s probably how come I couldn’t see the one with the white hair.
They was movin’ along at a purty good clip, though, so’s iff’n ye wants t’ ketch ‘em, yer gonna have t’ push yer horses some. ‘
‘We can do that, my friend. Thanks again.’ And Kurik and Sparhawk went back out Into the street. “Was that more or less what you needed to know, My Lord?’
Kurik asked.
‘That old fellow was a gold-mine, Kurik. We’ve gained ‘a bit of time on Martel, we know that he doesn’t have any troops with him, and we know that he’s going towards Motera.
“We know something else too, Sparhawk.’
‘Oh? What’s that?’
‘Adus still needs a bath.’
Sparhawk laughed. ‘Adus always needs a bath. We’ll probably have to pour about a hogshead of water on him before we bury him. Otherwise, the ground might just spit him back out again. Let’s go on back to the inn. ‘
When Sparhawk and Kurik re-entered the low-beamed common room of the inn, however, they found that their party had expanded slightly. Talen sat all innocent-eyed at the table with a number of hard stares focused on him.
*Chapter 21
“I’m a royal messenger,’ the boy said quickly as Sparhawk and Kurik approached the table, “so don’t start reaching for your belts, either of you.’
‘You’re a royal what?’ Sparhawk asked him.
‘I’m carrying a message to you from the queen, Sparhawk.’
‘Let’s see the message.’
‘I committed it to memory. We really wouldn’t want messages like that falling into unfriendly hands would we?’
“All right. Let’s hear it then.”
‘It’s sort of private, Sparhawk.’
“That’s all right. We’re among friends.’
“I can’t see why you’re behaving this way. I’m just obeying the queen’s command, that’s all.’
‘The message, Talen.’
“Well, she’s getting ready to leave for Cimmura.’
“That’s nice.’ Sparhawk’s tone was flat.
“And she’s very worried about you.’
‘I’m touched.’
“She’s feeling well, though.’ The additions Talen was tacking on were growing more and more lame. ‘That’s good to know. ‘
‘She – um – she says that she loves you.
And?’
“Well – that’s all, really.’
“It’s a strangely garbled message, Talen. I think maybe you’ve left something out. Why don’t you go over it again?’
‘Well – um – she was talking to Mirtai and Platime –
and me, ‘of course – and she said that she wished there was some way she could get word to you to let you know what she was doing and exactly how she felt.’
‘She said this to you?’
‘Well – I was in the room when she said it.’
‘Then we can’t really say that she ordered you to come here, can we?’
“Well – not in so many words, I suppose, but aren’t we supposed to sort of anticipate her wishes? She is the queen, after all.’
‘May I?’ Sephrenia asked.
“Of course,’ Sparhawk replied. ‘I’ve already found out what I want to know. ‘
‘Maybe,’ she said, ‘maybe not.’ She turned to the boy.
‘Talen?’
‘Yes, Sephrenia?’
‘That’s the weakest, most clumsy and obviously false story I’ve ever heard from you. It doesn’t even make any sense, particularly in view of the fact that she’s already sent Stragen to do more or less the same thing. Is that really the best you could come up with?’
He even managed to look embarrassed. ‘It’s not a lie,’ he said. ‘The queen said exactly what I told you she did.’
‘I’m sure she did, but what was it that moved you to come galloping after us to repeat some idle comments?’
He looked a little confused.
‘Oh, dear,’ Sephrenia sighed. She began to scold Aphrael in Styric at some length.
“I think I missed something there.’ Kalten sounded baffled.
‘I’ll explain in a moment, Kalten,’ Sephrenia said.
‘Talen, you have an enormous gift for spontaneous prevarication.
What happened to it? Why didn’t you just cook up a lie that was at least a little bit plausible?’
He squirmed a bit. ‘It just wouldn’t have seemed right, he said sullenly.
‘You felt that you shouldn’t really lie to your friends, is that it?’
‘Something like that, I Guess.
‘Praise God!’ Bevier said in stunned fervour.
‘Don’t be too quick to start offering up prayers of thanksgiving, Bevier,’ she told him. Talen’s apparent conversion isn’t entirely what it seems to be. Aphrael’s involved in it, and she’s a terrible liar. Her convictions keep getting in the way. ‘