In Treachery Forged (The Law of Swords) (49 page)

Maelgyn frowned. Indeed, they had made it much too easy for Forge to escape. “And so you took them up on their invitation?”

Forge grinned reluctantly. “Of course, Your Highness. It would have been impolite to refuse. Of course, I think they intended to track my movements after I escaped and follow me here. I didn’t let them do that, however – instead, I led them to their own harbor and stole a boat. I’d know if they’d been able to track me on a boat, and they tried of course. So, I found an inlet and pretended that was where I was getting off. Of course, they came ashore after me, but I managed to scuttle my stolen boat and took theirs. I know for a fact that I wasn’t followed after that, so I came here.”

Maelgyn checked with Sekhar. The
schlipf
could detect deception with ease, as that was tantamount to finding danger. Sekhar felt none, not even the tiny amount one would expect from boasting, and so he nodded in satisfaction. “Well, I am glad you managed to return. I would have expected our enemies to be more... competent, however, after their demonstrated skills in the trap which caught you.”

The sailor nodded slowly. “I did too, your highness, which is why I thought I had to mention it. I still think they wanted me to escape, of course, but I’m not sure if they really just wanted to follow me or if there might be some other reason for my release.”

Maelgyn chewed his lips. “Perhaps they were sending a message to us,” he mused. “Did you see anything unusual or unexpected while you were there?”

Forge smirked slightly. “You mean like battle plans which might be the key to defeating them, but in reality are just another trap? No, nothing like that. I thought of that, myself. I actually went looking for them, as I was sure they expected me to, but nothing.”

Euleilla cocked her head slightly. “Perhaps they didn’t want us to see their plans... but to warn us away by demonstrating just how secure their fortifications are. How difficult would you figure getting into that castle would be?”

Forge frowned. “Pretty difficult, actually. There was only one obvious way in or out, and that entrance would be pretty difficult to get in through. They have guards over that entrance all of the time.” He paused. “There’s also the servant’s entrance that I escaped through. That was unguarded completely. Kind of strange, now that I think about it.”

“That’s what they were trying to show us,” Ruznak said suddenly, snapping his fingers. “They’re giving us a way in.”

“The question is, who are ‘they?’” Uwelain asked. “I wouldn’t put it past Paljor to give us an easy entryway that in reality is a trap. However, I also know there are many people in the current Borden Isle Council who would like Paljor removed, and they would also be the sort of people who could arrange for Forge to have such an easy escape. I just don’t know.”

“I think the fact that they made a token effort to track Forge might mean something,” Ruznak suggested. “It could be that someone set this up for us, and disguised it with his superiors by making it seem like a plan to track us down.”

Maelgyn considered that for a moment. “I suppose that’s a possibility....”

“Then do we take this opportunity to break in?” Uwelain asked. “It sounds like time is of the essence for you, and I would like to be able to go home again – which I probably won’t be able to until Paljor is deposed. This sounds like the ideal way to strike.”

Maelgyn nodded slowly. “Let me think about it for a bit. We need a day to rest up, anyway. Mr. Forge, you may return to your duties as you see fit.”

Forge’s grin lit up his face. To him, being told to get back to work personally by his liege lord was the highest award he could possibly receive. “Thank you, your highness.”

Maelgyn turned to leave, Euleilla on his arm, but he was followed by El’Athras and Wangdu. The Dwarf stopped him when they were out of earshot.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to put that man back into a position of responsibility?” he asked doubtfully.

Maelgyn frowned at El’Athras. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Forgive me for saying so, Your Highness,” the old Dwarf began, “But I’ve been a spymaster for over a century, now, and I can tell when someone’s telling fibs. There’s something that doesn’t ring right in that boy’s story, and I wouldn’t let him be put in any position where he could either sabotage the ship or hear any secret plans. Which means returning him to duty isn’t a good idea.”

The Sword Prince nodded slowly, but unconsciously reached over to rub the spot on his wrist which circled the only exposed bit of Sekhar that showed of the
schlipf
in its dormant state. “I believe him. He is not a threat.”

That upset the Dwarf even more. “Your Highness, I can understand why you might want to believe that boy, but I don’t think—”

“This matter is closed,” Maelgyn snapped, but then relented slightly, grasping El’Athras’ shoulder. “If you are so worried, you can observe him yourself. However, I
know
he is no threat.”

“If you insist, Your Highness,” he sighed.

Rudel watched as Forge made his way up the rope ladder towards the lookout post in the crow’s nest. It was a difficult thing for a wounded man to do, and it would go a long way towards seeing how far into his recovery he really was. There was also the hazard of a man falling off the ropes to worry about it. Forge was slow, but he made it up to the top without incident, and so Rudel turned away from the man to deal with other things.

He was talking with the ship’s cook about that night’s dinner, and wasn’t particularly happy about what he was hearing. “And you think we need to have split pea soup again tonight for
what
reason?”

“I thought you liked my pea soup!” the cook protested.

“Well, it is generally regarded as the best quality provision we can store on a ship,” Rudel admitted. “But having the same thing to eat for seven meals in a row does get a bit old, no matter how good that food is.”

“Well, our cheese is rancid, our salt beef is inedibly bad, the potatoes have rotted, our biscuit flour is infested, and we used up the rice a long time ago,” the cook explained. “Not much else to base a meal on is in our stores, except a bunch of pickles – which you’re just as tired of. I know some ship’s cooks would serve all that stuff, anyway, but I refuse unless it’s a choice between that and starving.” He paused. “I suppose if you were willing to authorize a fishing and hunting expedition, we could at least have some variety. We didn’t take the time to properly stock up before leaving Sopan, sir, so I only had what we kept in storage to prepare meals on in the first place, and so much of that was old to begin with.”

Rudel pinched his nose, fighting a dawning headache. He’d forgotten some of the annoyances of single ship command, the minutiae which a captain would have to deal with. He was starting to regret accepting this command, and hoped to go back to the job of being an Admiral pretty soon. “I think land expeditions are out of the question for the moment. Anything you can catch from shipboard, however, is fine – and that includes not just fish but the birds flying around the deck. Just remember to butcher them cleanly, and
please
remember to pluck the bird before cooking it. I had a cook, once, who nearly sunk my ship because the feathers of a bird he’d caught started turning into floating ash and set the whole ship on fire. You’d better be able to figure that much out or you can expect to lose your job as our cook and move on to something a bit less... pleasant.”

“What’s less pleasant then being a cook on a ship like this?” the cook muttered as he turned to collect men for the fishing expedition. “Half the ingredients are spoiled, the light is so bad in the kitchen you can’t see what you’re doing, and the spices! What I wouldn’t give for a teaspoon of paprika... or even a single clove of garlic! Garlic! One of the most useful and important spices in all of cooking, and we can’t even keep a single clove on hand....”

Rudel shook his head as he watched the man leave.
Figures,
he thought.
I’ve got the only navy cook in the world who actually cares a damn about what he makes. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, mind, if we were well stocked, but considering the circumstances....

The Admiral sighed as he spotted another problem. More headaches. First, it was the supply dilemma, and now it seemed as if one of his VIPs was intending to throw himself overboard in order to get a look at the crow’s nest. “Lord El’Athras,” he said, approaching the Dwarf and reaching out to grab him before he overbalanced while standing on the railing. “That is a very dangerous position to be in, and as captain of this ship I must insist you get down from there.”

El’Athras glared at him. “Fine, but I’m going to keep an eye on him since it seems none of
you
will.”

Rudel looked a bit startled. “What? An eye on who?”

“On him, of course,” the Dwarf snorted, pointing to the crow’s nest. “He could be signaling the enemy from up there, or... or... I’m not sure what, but I’ll catch him when he does it!”

“Forge?” Rudel laughed, realizing what El’Athras was saying. “Oh, come on, Your Lordship. Forge is no spy – I’ve known him for years. Plus, His Highness has vouched for his honesty. I suppose you can keep an eye on him if you wish, but please, Your Lordship, do it safely! I don’t want my men to have to rescue you if you fall overboard.”

El’Athras stalked away from the Admiral, disgruntled, while Rudel made his own way down below – he could use a dose of willow bark tea for his headache. The Dwarf was still muttering, not looking where he was going, when he collided with someone else.

“I wasn’t going to fall overboard – I knew what I was doing! I have a perfect sense of balance, and he should know that. I’m a Dwarf, after all, and everyone knows that Dwarves are— oof!”

“Friend Athras!” Wangdu said, offering a hand to the said Dwarf with the ‘perfect sense of balance,’ who had been knocked off his feet by colliding with the lighter Elf who was standing on just one leg while he exercised. “You seem a bit distracted, you do.”

“What is it with the bloody Humans?” El’Athras snorted. “They don’t seem to have an ounce of sense in them!”

“I’d agree with you, I would, I’m sure,” Wangdu said, “If I knew what you were talking about, I did.”

El’Athras glared up at the crow’s nest. “I don’t know how they can continue to trust that man who just returned from ‘captivity.’ Uh huh, sure. If he was really a captive of Paljor, then I’m an Elf!”

I didn’t know El’Athras was my cousin, I didn’t,
Wangdu mused, forcing both the smile off his face and the laughter out of his voice. “So, you don’t believe his story, you don’t?”

“It has so many holes I could sail this ship through them!” El’Athras exclaimed. “Now, I could understand Maelgyn believing him, perhaps – he’s still just a lad, even among humans, but Rudel is old enough to know better. But no, he takes the word of an eighteen year old boy over the word of a man who’s been looking for deception in men for over a century.”

“I believe Maelgyn, I do,” Wangdu noted. “And his people are right to believe him as well, they are. He is their liege lord, after all, he is.”

The Dwarf eyed Wangdu suspiciously. “All right, give. What do you know that I don’t?”

“I know how his
schlipf
works, I do,” Wangdu explained. “And I know that it would warn him if that man had lied, I do.”

The Dwarf looked surprised. “I didn’t think
schlipf
did that. I knew they were a living weapon that your people traditionally used. I thought that was the extent of it.”

“In a sense, that’s true, it is,” Wangdu admitted. “The
schlipf
was my people’s greatest hand-to-hand weapon, it was, and still is in many ways, it is. But a
schlipf’s
powers include the ability to sense danger, deceit, and more, they do. I have never had a
schlipf,
I haven’t, and I do not know what all their powers are, I don’t. I would have to consult the notes of their makers, I would, and the Ancient Elves’ library is very difficult to get to, it is. But I’m sure this
schlipf
likes his host, I am, and so I believe Maelgyn when he says Forge is telling the truth, I do.”

El’Athras averted his eyes, suddenly uncomfortable. He didn’t exactly have a reply to that, but deep down, he realized that Maelgyn might actually have known what he was talking about. He still would keep a close eye on Forge, however.

Chapter 29

“I have decided,” Maelgyn announced. “That we should bypass the ‘secret’ entrance we have been handed, whether it has been trapped or not.”

Euleilla nodded, having extensively discussed the matter with him the previous night, though most of his advisors looked perplexed. Maelgyn and his wife both figured it would be a good idea to find out if it was a trap, using one of their
schlipf
to determine if it was safe to go through the door. She had wanted to be the one to check, but he had convinced her that – after having fought against some of Paljor’s people – she was too recognizable, increasing the risk of discovery during the covert part of their mission. After a brief argument, they eventually came to the conclusion that there wasn’t any point to checking at all – they had realized sneaking in wouldn’t help them, anyway.