Knight Eternal (A Novel of Epic Fantasy) (Harbinger of Doom Volume 3) (23 page)

Stev Keevis looked surprised. “What task,
Keeper?”

“
You shall journey with
Lord Korrgonn and aid him in opening the holy portal. Mason shall
go with you.” He turned to Korrgonn. “With your permission, of
course, my lord.”

“
We will accept their help
gladly,” said Korrgonn.

Keevis dashed off and the group made their
way back to the strange chamber that had housed the Orb, a slow
trek due to the snail-paced shuffling of the Keeper. By the time
they stood before the dais in the orb chamber, Keevis rejoined them
carrying a large pack over his shoulder, another in hand, and
wearing a traveling cloak. Mason now wore a thick hooded cloak that
concealed his true nature, and a large pack was slung over his
shoulder, a huge hammer hung from his belt.

“
Well, now, Apprentice,
Mason, step up here so I need not shout,” though every word of the
Keeper was something of a shout. “No wizard has ever had as
accomplished an apprentice as you, my boy. I am proud of you, both
as a wizard and as an elf.”

“
Mason, you old blockhead,
you’ve been loyal and tireless, and not much trouble at all. I
thank you for all your toils these many years.”

“
I expect that you both
will serve Lord Korrgonn as you have served me. When your quest is
completed, so too will be your obligation and you may pursue your
own course thereafter. Have you the tomes of spells? The tokens and
the potions?”

“
Yes, Keeper,” said
Keevis.

“
Good. Fare thee well, and
remember all that I have taught you.”

“
That I will, Keeper,”
said Keevis, his voice crackling with sorrow.

“
And I,” said
Mason.

The Keeper and Keevis shook hands and
embraced. Even Mason extended his stony hand and shook the Keeper’s
hand, though the old elf winced from the golem’s strength.

The Keeper turned back to Korrgonn. “One
last boon, my lord, before you depart. My time on Midgaard is at an
end at last. Touch me upon my shoulder, so that I might feel your
divine essence before I leave this life.”

Korrgonn nodded his agreement.

The Keeper closed his
eyes. “From dust I came, and to dust I return,” he said as Korrgonn
placed a hand on his shoulder. A peacefulness came over the
Keeper’s old face, a look of contentment and relief, and then
before the eyes of all, the Keeper’s flesh turned to gray and
dissolved to dust from the head down, all in the merest of moments.
A heap of old clothes and rusty armor was all that remained. A
breeze came up out of nowhere and blew the Keeper’s ashes up and
away, though the piles of ash about the floor remained
untouched.

XI

AZURA THE SEER

“
Beware him. He’s the Prince of Lies.

He will be the death of us
all.”

—
Azura the Seer

At some sixty feet in height and more
twenty-five feet in diameter, Azura’s rough-hewn stone tower
dwarfed its neighbors. Painted a bright blue, it stood at the
center of a cobblestone square ringed by low stone walls. A
gardener tended the flowers that adorned the square’s carved stone
planters while a servant swept the pavement clean. Two guards
flanked the tower’s door.

“
Good afternoon,
gentlemen,” said one guard at the group’s approach. “How may I help
you?”

“
Good day,” said Tanch.
“We come seeking an audience with Mistress Azura.

The guard looked the group over.

“
All of you?”

“
These are but my
bodyguards and servants. Pay them no heed.”

“
Of course, sir. May I
please have your name and occupation?”

“
I am Sinch, the spice
merchant. I trust you’ve heard of me.”

“
Of course, sir, and
welcome. Please remain here a moment and I will see if the seer is
available to meet with you.”

The second guard remained outside. He looked
uncomfortable as he sized up the large men that stood with Tanch.
He kept a nervous hand on the hilt of his sword, but looked ready
to run at the first sign of trouble. In a few minutes, the first
guard returned.

“
Merchant Sinch, the seer
will see you now. I regret, the rules of the house permit no more
than four visitors at a time, regardless of their station. The
remainder of your party must remain in the courtyard.”

“
Very well,” said Tanch.
“You and you, remain here,” pointing to Dolan and Artol. “And don’t
make a nuisance of yourselves.”

The guard showed Tanch and the others
through the outer door and into an entry hall that served as both
cloakroom and guard post. The second guard joined them, and closed
and barred the outer door. An inner door now opened, revealing a
dimly lit chamber of incense, tapestries and hanging beads.

Azura sat at a wood table
facing the group as they entered. Youthful, shapely and striking,
her auburn hair fell thick and wavy about her shoulders. Beside her
stood a barbarian of the southern islands, shirtless but adorned
with tattoos across his barrel chest and bulging arms. A
giant—taller than Theta, dark of skin, bald of pate, and past four
hundred pounds.

Azura’s hands rested on
the table before her. A large sphere of blue crystal sat in a
carved wooden holder on the table before her. A flickering candle
beside it caused light to dance within the crystal, creating
strange shapes and an eerie glow. Nearby, a deck of tarot cards,
careworn but ornate. Tapestries adorned all the walls and silks
draped the ceiling. Candles burned here and there, but the room was
intentionally dim.

***

A wizard, a gnome, and
soldiers, finely clothed—just as Rimel said. They can
pay.

“
Greetings, Mistress
Azura,” said Tanch as he reverently bowed. Tanch raised his staff
up and thumped it down lightly on the wood floor. “Forgive my small
deception to your guard. As you no doubt can discern, I am no spice
merchant.”

“
Indeed, you are not,
Par—”

Tanch smiled. “I am Par
Sinch Malaban of The Blue Tower. My retainers,” gesturing toward
the others, “are a sordid lot of little consequence.”

“
And two more of your men
remain in the courtyard.”

Tanch nodded.

“
So many
bodyguards, Par Sinch. You must have many enemies.”
And much coin to pay all these.

“
Alas, bodyguards are a
necessity in these dark times,” said Tanch. “A wizard’s welcome is
all too thin in some lands, Tragoss among them.”

“
Too true, Par Sinch. It’s
my good fortune that the Thothians don’t look down on seers as they
do on wizards. Nonetheless, as you see, I keep my own bodyguards as
well, both seen and unseen.” She paused, letting the last words
sink in. “Please now, sit and be comfortable.”

Tanch took a seat at the table. The others
remained standing.

“
You honor me with this
audience. I regret that I had not the opportunity to forewarn you
of my visit.”

“
No regrets are necessary.
Wizards in good standing with the Tower of the Arcane are always
welcome guests to my tower, if not to my city.”

Tanch smiled and bowed his head slightly.
“Thank you, Mistress.”

A true smile? Is he one of Pipkorn’s or the
Vizier’s or some other’s?

“
I understand that the
Tower has undergone much upheaval in recent months.”

“
Indeed.”

I can’t read him. Where are his
loyalties?

Azura peered into the depths of her crystal
ball for a few moments. “You’ve journeyed to parts foreign to
escape those that would mean you harm.”

Tanch smiled. “I support what is best for
the Order, as is my duty.”

He won’t reveal himself. Try another
approach.

Azura passed her hands over the crystal
sphere and gazed into it. She looked up.

“
You’ve come seeking my
wisdom, my knowledge. You seek the answer to a question of grave
import.”

He smiles, unimpressed. He’s no fool.

“
Your knowledge, wisdom,
and mastery of the art of divination are known far and wide and
much admired even within the Tower of the Arcane.”

“
Known, perhaps,” said
Azura. “Admired, no, not at all. But I thank you for your
flattery.”

The older soldier is
studying the room. Dead gods, he looks dangerous. Why are they
here? Do they mean me harm? Could even Gorb protect me against
them?

“
Tell me now, Par Sinch of
the Blue Tower, what knowledge do you seek?”

“
We search for a ship,”
said Tanch.

“
Hmm,”
she nodded.
I can work with
that.

Each time, before making a
pronouncement Azura caressed the crystal sphere and gazed into it.
She looked back up before she spoke so that she could see her
guests’ reactions.

“
A sailing vessel, out of
Lomion,” said Azura.

“
Yes.”

“
And why do you seek
her?”

“
There is a man on board
that is a traitor to the Order. We’re tasked with bringing him to
justice.”

Enforcers or bounty
hunters. But whose? Pipkorn’s or the League’s, or someone
else’s?
“I see,” said Azura.
These men are dangerous.
“What name does this man go by?”

“
Par Otto, of the Red
Tower.”

I don’t know that name. A lie?

“
When did this ship reach
Tragoss Mor?”

“
Within the last two days
or so.”

Azura gazed deeply into
the crystal ball, caressing it over and over.
The White Rose—it must be. They’re in with Pipkorn or
Harringgold—enemies of the League. Good thing that I paid for that
information about The Rose. Always someone willing to pay for
secrets. Must be sure.

“
The ship this man sailed
on is no longer in Tragoss Mor,” said Azura.

Still can’t read the wizard. The young
bodyguard nodded, I think.

She looked back at the sphere for a moment,
and then back at Tanch.

“
The man
you seek is still aboard her, and no one can tell you where she has
sailed.”
The gnome looks surprised. I’m
right. I have them.
Azura made a show of
gazing close and long into the sphere.
Now
for the hook.

“
The
ship you seek is called
The White
Rose
.”

Tanch raised his eyebrows, despite
himself.

I was right!

“
Impressive.”

“
And you
seek knowledge of where this
White
Rose
is sailing?”

Tanch nodded. “Yes.”

They’re mine. How much
should I ask for?
“I believe that my
powers can divine this information for you—but the task is
difficult and draining. I’m afraid that the cost must be
high.”

Tanch furrowed his brow.

He will pay.

Azura returned her gaze to
the crystal.
If I ask for too much, what
will they do? Try to kill me? That would be foolish, that would
gain them nothing but a battle with my guards. Gorb is at my side,
so strong—and Dirkben and Rimel. But Dirkben is a useless coward.
Both warriors and the gnome are casing the room. Are they thieves?
Assassins? I must tread carefully.

“
Five
hundred silver stars is my price.”
Fifty
times what I paid for the information.

No reaction from Sinch. He’s holding
back.

“
A high price indeed for
such a small piece of information,” said Tanch. “A piece of
information that would put the Order in your debt.”

I must lower the price to
appease him.
“The divination is difficult.
I know nothing of the ship or its crew, save what little the
crystal’s mists have only now revealed to me. It will take much
power and concentration and I will need to expend valuable herbs
and powders. For the Order though, I will do this thing for four
hundred silver, no less.”

Tanch glanced over at Claradon for a
moment.

What was that? Is he a young lordling and
the true master here? Does it matter, so long as they pay?

Sinch nodded.
He approves.

Tanch pulled out a leathern purse from his
belt. It jingled with the sounds of coins. He opened it.

“
Keep your money, wizard,”
said Theta.

What’s this?

“
This one is a mummer.
She’ll take your money and send us on a wild goose chase. Best we
be on our way.”

What game is this?

Tanch squirmed in his seat
and looked mortified. He turned and glared at Theta. “I hope that
my guard has not offended you, my lady. He’s naught but an uncouth
barbarian that knows not his station. I assure you that I do not
agree with his insulting remarks, and I will see that he regrets
them.”

I still have him.

“
He does, however, bring
to mind some concerns.”

Oh, smigits, where’s he
going with this?
“And what concerns are
those?”