The Riftwar Legacy: The Complete 4-Book Collection. Raymond E. Feist

occupied when James had entered the inn. The shock of the murders had rendered the Earl nearly unable to function. James had seen it before with men who were unused to bloodshed. He hurried to the Earl and said, ‘My lord, what do you propose?’

      Blinking as if he had difficulty understanding James, Richard echoed, ‘Propose?’

      James pointed at the crowd and said, ‘You must tell them something. Disperse them before things get any uglier than before. Then the bodies must be attended to.’

      ‘Yes,’ said Earl Richard. ‘That’s so.’ He mounted the fountain and stood where everyone could see him. ‘Citizens of Romney,’ he shouted, and as the words came from him, James could see that speaking before the citizenry was something the Earl did often, for the familiarity of the task returned his wits.

      ‘Go to your homes!’ commanded the Earl. ‘Stay calm. Black murder has been done and those responsible will be hunted down and punished.’ He jumped down and waved over a constable. ‘I want someone from the Riverpullers and the Ironmongers here in five minutes.’

      ‘Damn!’ said the Earl to James. ‘I need send to Cheam for more troops. Black Guy won’t be pleased when he learns fifty of the King’s Own have died in my city.’

      ‘Nor will the King,’ observed James. Seeing the Earl’s face cloud over at the mention of King Lyam, James said, ‘My companions and I will do anything we can to help.’

      ‘The best thing you can do right now, squire, is find out who is behind this.’

      ‘I already know,’ said James. He told them of the tarweed and the two men who appeared to be from Silden.

      ‘Nighthawks!’ whispered the Earl, so as not to be overheard by any of the crowd who were slowly leaving the area. ‘Damn! I almost wish it had been Damon Reeves or Arle Steelsoul behind this.’

      ‘Why them?’ asked James.

      ‘Because then I could hang one or the other with cause and end two problems for the price of one. Reeves runs the Riverpullers, and Arle Steelsoul is the head of the Ironmongers’ Guild. They are at the heart of the dispute.’ He indicated two men approaching. When they were standing before the Earl, he said, ‘Tell your respective factions that I have had enough with violence in Romney. I hold the head of the Riverpullers and Ironmongers personally responsible for the good behaviour of both sides of this dispute. Any further violence and I will hang them, side by side, from the city gate. Carry word back to them now!’

      The first man, one of the Ironmongers, said, ‘But Arle Steelsoul’s down in Sloop!’

      ‘Then carry word to Sloop,’ instructed the Earl.

      James said, ‘M’lord, I will do that.’ The two men exchanged glances, as if asking who the stranger was to bear such tidings to the leaders of the two warring factions.

      The Earl said, ‘Pass the word that Arle and Damon’s lives will be forfeit if there are any more problems in my city.’ The two men bowed and ran off.

      ‘Can you enforce the threat, m’lord?’ asked James when the men were out of earshot.

      ‘Probably not, but it may shock them into behaving themselves until the next detachment of soldiers arrives.’ He looked at James. ‘Why do you choose to go to Sloop?’

      ‘Because that’s where the poisoned ale is from, and because I think we need to continue on down to Silden after that.’

      ‘Then tell Steelsoul and Michael Waylander that I expect both men to be here in three days’ time, along with Reeves and the other local leaders of the various factions, and should either not appear, I will know he has a hand in black murder. I’ll issue the death warrant myself. If they both show up, I’m locking all of them in a room and neither side will be permitted to leave until we have a settlement of these differences. I don’t care if they have to pee on the floor, or die of starvation, I’ll have an end to this business before any of them sees the sun again.’

      Convinced of the Earl’s earnestness in the matter, James said, ‘My companions and I will be off in an hour, m’lord.’ He bowed and returned to the Black Sheep, where two workers were helping Jason move the bodies so they could be piled up on a waggon and taken from the city for cremation. Owyn waved James over.

      ‘Find anything interesting?’

      ‘Just this,’ said Owyn. He held out two items. One was a small silver brooch, looking like an oversize spider.

      ‘What’s this?’ asked James.

      ‘Turn it over,’ said Gorath.

      James did as he was bid and saw a large groove running down the centre of the item. In it a tightly-packed gummy substance could be seen. James lifted the device to his nose and sniffed. ‘Silverthorn!’ he said.

      ‘Are you sure?’ asked Owyn.

      ‘I’d recognize that odour anywhere, trust me,’ replied James.

      ‘It’s an assassin’s tool,’ said Gorath. ‘You run the edge of a dagger along that groove and even if you don’t strike a killing blow, the victim dies within hours.’

      ‘What else?’ asked James.

      Owyn held out a brass tube with glass at each end. ‘A spyglass?’ asked James.

      ‘Look through it,’ suggested Owyn.

      James did and his perspective altered. The colours through the glass changed and he suddenly saw shifting patterns on the clothing of his companions as well as on the walls of the building. Pulling it away from his eye, he said, ‘What is this?’

      Owyn said, ‘It’s magic. I will have to study it, but I think it lets you see things you otherwise can’t see, such as magically-hidden items.’

      James looked down at the two items. He wished he had better clues, but these two would have to do as a start.

       • EIGHT •

       Secrets

      DARK SHAPES MOVED IN THE EVENING SHADOWS.

      James pointed to them and Owyn asked, ‘What?’

      Gorath said, ‘I see them.’

      They had ridden south at midday, pushing the horses as much as possible, to reach the village of Sloop and deliver the Earl’s ultimatum to Steelsoul and Waylander. As sundown approached, they had crested a rise and come within sight of town. Armed men were filtering through the trees at the north end of the town, heading toward a clump of houses.

      Gorath urged his horse forward, pulling his sword. James and Owyn were on his heels a moment later. They charged the men, while James started shouting, ‘Alarm! Raiders in the village!’

      He knew that depending on the make-up of this village, the response to a call of alarm would either be for the men of the village to rush out with weapons in hand, or for doors and windows to be locked down. In the west he knew there would be a dozen men in the streets to meet the invaders in a minute. Here in the relatively calm east, he wasn’t so sure.

      As they passed the first house, he saw a curious face peeking through a window. Again he shouted, ‘Raiders in the village! To arms!’

      The man slammed shutters, and James could imagine him barring the door as James left the house behind.

      Gorath was upon the first swordsman, leaping from his horse onto the man. James considered that he probably should devote at least one afternoon teaching the dark elf how to fight effectively from horseback.

      Owyn, on the other hand, had become quite adept at using his heavy staff from horseback, cracking skulls and breaking arms with quick efficiency.

      Within